The Terror of Yugo
by spoonerdog123
Summary: Yugi and his mates have finally got themselves a Hawaiian holiday - but it's far too good to be true, as they discover when they meet their benefactor Yugo Moti, yet another Yugi-obsessed villain. But his mind games are certainly twisted, and the term 'other me' is about to get a whole new meaning... (No ships, contains OC/parody of a certain OC type, rated for some blood later on)
1. Prologue: Leaving

**The Terror of Yugo**

* * *

**Prologue: Leaving**

"I won a _what?_"

"Mister Moto," the clipped voice on the other end of the telephone replies, as crisp and as clean as a white shirt on a laundry advertisement; "I think you will find it is hardly a _win_ – more of a much–needed break. So, what do you say?"

"I – I – Gee, I don't know." Yugi Moto – also known as the King of Games – takes a deep breath, his cheeks reddening slightly from the pressure the strange man has just put him under. He shifts on the bed a little, shaking his head to try and clear it, before he attempts to speak once more. "Hawaii. I got a trip to _Hawaii_."

"For you, and four others I will be contacting shortly – all expenses paid, of course. My master, Yugo Moti, sends his kind regards. I am now sending the ticket and other details through to the Kame Game shop's email."

That makes the boy frown a little, and even consider asking the man on the phone just what he's planning – but Solomon Muto's surprised yelp a few seconds later confirms that the stranger has, indeed, sent the tickets. "Y–Yugi!"

"I know!", the boy calls from his bedroom.

"But how?"

"I'm talking to the guy right no–"

– and then Yugi _isn't_, because the man has just hung up; the phone clatters onto the floor as he starts from the sudden burst of static. He sits there a moment, listening to the wild whoops of his grandfather, and feeling absolutely _stunned_.

He's going to Hawaii.

On a _holiday._

Yugi rolls onto his back, staring at the peeling ceiling as his grandfather continues to hoot – jeez, when was the last time he ever got a break? In between Battle City and Duelist Kingdom and all the other tournaments, there's been nothing but work, work, work – tournaments in the school holidays, shop assistance on the weekends and after school, with school and homework filling in every other blank on his schedule. And now – _boom_, he's just been offered a trip to the ultimate holiday destination.

_Hawaii..._

Excitement finally sets in for the kid, and he sits bolt upright – man, he can't wait for this! The only way it could possibly be any better is if–

–the phone rings again, and he picks it up automatically, stretching over the bed to reach. He clicks the button, listens to the squawking – then his already wide eyes go even wider, wider than should be physically possible.

"Jounouchi?"

It doesn't stop there, of course – no sooner has Jounouchi slammed down the phone after swearing to sprint all the way to Yugi's place, than the King of Games finds that his end is ringing again. Three more have exactly the same news as Jounouchi – all too soon, the identities of the four joining Yugi on this amazing holiday are known. Ryou Bakura, Anzu Mazaki, Hiroto Honda, Katsuya Jounouchi – very last one of them is one of his friends, and a good friend at that. The poor boy just can't believe it, he just _can't _believe what ridiculous luck he's had, and he even says it to his Millennium Puzzle, hanging as it is by his bedside.

"Wow. I mean... I just can't believe it. Can you believe it? Hawaii, _Hawaii..._"

* * *

"...I just can't believe this", Yugi mutters in the direction of the small passenger jet, settled as it is upon the runway like some sort of ungainly bird. "I just can't believe it."

_Me neither_, the Puzzle's spirit yawns absentmindedly in the general direction of its host (it prefers the use of the word _partner_), as the boy scuttles towards the plane. The ancient amnesiac has heard Yugi say those words many, many times in the past week; if there's one thing 'Yami' cannot believe, it's simply that Yugi still hasn't given up on using that particular phrase._I think I am most surprised by this benefactor of yours wanting absolutely nothing in return…_

"Yugo, his name was", the boy murmurs to the ghost. "Funny that his name should be almost like mine, isn't it?"

The spirit, being as ancient as the Pharaohs themselves, does not see the humour in this; but seeing as Yugi has surely pointed out this detail a couple of hundred times over by this stage, it supposes that there must be something hilarious about it. With this in mind, it hums, as though deep in thought; and continues to do so until they reach the plane, whereupon its partner is distracted from repeating anything else by the sighting of its friends.

"Yugi!", waves a tall blonde from the dooorway; and the boy immediately rushes into the plane to join his friend.

"Jounouchi!"

"Hey, Yugi!", a brown haired boy smiles in his direction – it should here be noted that the brown–haired girl at his shoulder also smiles and waves, before continuing to thump the male for some earlier offence. "Awww, come on Anzu – it was only a _little _panty tank!"

A comical pause, then the girl grins viciously. "Honda, it was a _panty tank._"

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"I guess that's all of us, then…?", a pale boy murmurs, brushing whitebangs from his eyes as he steps deftly over the melee that is Honda and Anzu. "I haven't talked to you in a while, Yugi." A rueful little smile crosses Ryou Bakura's lips. "We've all been rather... _busy _lately, haven't we?"

Yugi blinks, catching Jounouchi's warning look. _Be careful_, it says – and it's true, because for all they know, this Ryou they're talking to might not necessarily be _him_. Much like Yugi, the boy has a Millennium Item of his own; but much unlike Yugi, the spirit within it is not a nice person. "Well, I suppose we have", Yugi mumbles awkwardly after a moment's stalling; thankfully, before the conversation can go any further, the intercom crackles.

"We are cleared for take-off. Would all passengers please move to their seats…"

And it's only now, looking at the sixteen empty seats of the Dassault Falcon 7X that's so new, you could have sworn the fifty million dollar price tag was still hanging off it, that the King of Games realizes just how lucky they are, how wealthy this Yugo character must surely be, not to mention how amazing this all is.

Yugi just can't believe it, he just _can't_ believe it...

* * *

**UAB**

– The Dassault Falcon 7X, a private jet, has a capacity of sixteen passengers, a flight range of 5,950 miles (which would cover the distance from Japan to Hawaii), and a price tag of fifty million American dollars.

– Short prologue is... well, it's short. Not a whole lot to say there.

– For your info - the horror/suspense stuff doesn't really start until somewhere around chapter four (it's definitely kicked in by chapter five), because I needed to take some time in setting up the story for later on. So yes, people - it gets better, trust me~

– This was originally a tradefic for Artworx88, but then the prompt kind of gave me plot bunnies, and then this whole fic happened.


	2. Chapter One: Arriving

**Chapter One: Arriving**

**YUGI**

The flight over is as dull as it was unmemorable afterwards; very little happens, aside from perhaps Honda and Jounouchi acquiring a few more bruises from Anzu, and Yugi's quiet warning to Ryou not to put the Millennium Ring on (to which the latter nodded enthusiastically). To this end, then, we should perhaps skip over to the moment where the plane touches down on the runway, sparks flying from the hot tarmac.

"Welcome to Honolulu, Hawaii. We trust that you will enjoy your stay."

A hot blast of air assaults the teenagers as they step from the plane, blinking in the sunlight. It was a semi–sort of winter in Domino, and they are all wearing jackets and jeans, nothing light – but now, under the baking sun, it's all the friends can do not to throw them all off. The air is sticky with moisture, drops of sweat trickling down their necks as they move off the plane, struggling through the heat; each feeling very uncomfortable. They are, Yugi thinks, five tourists, utterly unequipped for such a holiday – he really should have looked things up earli–

"Yugi Moto, I presume?"

The boy registers the voice as belonging to the man on the phone, Yugo's servant, and he is rather taken aback by the servant's appearance – far from being in a suit and blazer as Yugi might have previously expected, he is dressed in a too–loud floral shirt, denim shorts, and sandals. He is hardly the towering bodyguard that might be expected of a rich employer such as Yugo - he is certainly tall, but also rather lean, his skinny legs emphasized by the shorts -but his sandy blonde hair and skin almost as pale as Ryou's indicate that he is not a local to this island; presumably, he was _chosen _by his employer for this role. A pair of spectacles balance precariously on his nose, threatening to fall off as the servant bows to Yugi, putting his hands together and nodding in a way he supposes is Japanese (but which in all honesty only causes Jounouchi and Honda to nearly die holding in their laughter), addressing him in those same curt, clean tones: "A pleasure to meet you. I am Yack - Yack Mith."

"But your badge says 'Jack Smith'," Ryou murmurs warily - he is almost uncharacteristically confident in this situation, which earns him a suspicious look from Honda. Thankfully, the man does not appear to notice the slight shadows around the boy's eyes, and merely bows to him as well.

"That is my given name, which I wear in order to remind people of it. When I am employed by my master, however, I am Yack Mith - and I would appreciate it greatly if you were to call me that. And speaking of my master…" There is here a slight pause in the young man's voice, torturous for the others as they stand uncomfortably in the sun; then Yack goes on as though he never stopped: "I believe _you_, Mister Moto, will be most impressed."

Yugi frowns in puzzlement; the sun still shines and drops of sweat continue to run down his back, but his stomach now feels icy cold. "It was Yugo, wasn't it?"

"Yugo Moti", Yack elaborates, with a sweep of the hand that could mean _anything_. "And you should call him that at all times, Mister Moto." With that, he sweeps off across the half–dead grass, the others following gratefully, eager to find shelter from the heat, hardly caring for the fact that they look like a set of oddly–dressed baby ducks crowding behind their mother. "Your suitcases will be taken to the mansion by the staff, naturally. We are taking a small detour."

"Eh? Where are we going?", Jounouchi growls, jogging after the servant in order to reach the man's side. He is fast becoming irritated by the heat and this stranger, and it is obvious in his aggressive stance, his strained voice, the way his whole body angles towards Yack, how he tries to transfix the servant with an angry glare–

–and emphasis on the _tries_, because it is an utterly useless effort. Yack remains as cool as a cucumber, and Jounouchi only manages to make himself look slightly silly; he is, after all, a mere teenager trying to intimidate a _man._

"It is rather hot, and you have already come some way," Yack yawns, a hand raised delicately to his mouth. "My master would like for you all to be at your most _presentable_ when meeting him."

Without further comment, they follow the man into the airport, which is all peeling white paint and plastic plants, the air conditioning doing very little against the heat. Yugi can't help but note, with no small degree of concern, the looks on people's faces as the group moves at a trot through the building – the crowd simply parts before them as though Yack were some ancient Moses, the security guards even taking a step backwards the servant hurries the teenagers through. There is an eerie sort of silence, too; for passengers instantly stop talking when the older man comes near, and then break out into whispers as Honda (bringing up the rear of the group) goes past.

_"It's Yugo's man…"_

_"That boy…"_

_"Mansion…"_

_"…the school…"_

And though Yugi's long been used to the whispers of others when he goes by, he can't help but feel uneasy – maybe because for once, the people aren't talking about him (or at least, he thinks they aren't). Perhaps once that would have been comforting; but now, accustomed as the teenager is to the sound, it is almost frightening to think that people are not talking about him, but of another.

He looks around – both Jounouchi and Honda have gone tense, and are now stalking forwards as though they are back in the old days, walking down some dark alleyway and feeling well aware of a rival street gang's presence. Anzu is walking with her head downwards, clearly hesitant, whilst Ryou has hunched over, mouthing what Yugi imagines are prayers as he continues to move, head up and eyes full of fear. Yack may well be striding along as though nothing is amiss, but it is clear to Yugi that it's not just his own versatile imagination; all five of them have clearly noticed that something is wrong, very wrong – and all of them are carrying the same question in their expressions; a question that is definitely plaguing Yugi as well.

_This Yugo… just how powerful is he?_

* * *

"S–sir!", the young lady yelps, cowering behind the counter. "P–please don't'…"

"You are here to serve your customers. I am a customer." With that, Yack produces a thick wad of cash from a pocket of his floral shirt, and places it gently upon the desk; the man's stance is absolutely rigid, but his voice almost lazy."Please see to it that these five look the part of tourists. You will be paid a very good deal if you do so… _now._"

With this last word, he snaps his fingers – and almost immediately, the lady rushes from her position, yelling at the top of her lungs in a voice high, slightly panicked:"Bill! Clara! Eric! I–It's _him!_"

At this,three more assistants come racing from the back of the store, each one trying their best to understand the garbled orders being screamed at them; each one hesitates at the sight of Yack, cringes with the man's benevolent smile. Things are mumbled, stares are directed towards the floor, with the occasional fearful glance upwards at Yugo's servant.

"I…It's _you_," one of them mutters, and Yack waves carelessly.

"Oh no – please, please! Don't mind me; do carry on. I would rather have _efficient service,_ in all honesty."

Yugi winces at the italics; for they are slanted as a knife blade is slanted – they are hard and steely, and send the shop assistants scurrying at a pace that is, if anything, even more feverish than before. The boys are quickly sized up, then dragged towards various shelves; Anzu is similarly treated, though towards a set of shelves on the opposite side of the shop. Yugi cannot see her, but for when he glances regretfully over his shoulder, hoping that she'll be all right by herself; he is gratified to see her glancing back.

_Careful_, his Puzzle's spirit murmurs quietly, making the boy shuffle his feet a little to hide the automatic shiver that runs through his system. In his mind's eye, Yugi can see it, standing regally in the doorway of its soulroom. _I don't like this_, it calls across the corridor, towards the open door of its ho–_partner's_ room. _It feels like trouble..._

Yugi nods slightly in the outside world, glancing over at Ryou to check and see if the pale boy is having some similar conversation with his Ring. Sure enough, the teenager has one hand stuffed in the pocket of his jacket, fear written all across his face for a brief moment as he freezes on the spot, whole body stiffening; before he swallows hard a second later, forces himself to smile as he lets himself be led away by one of the assistants. He's scared, just as scared as Yugi is, as they likely all are...

...and yet, very little has happened that is at all scary, disregarding perhaps the bright colours of Yack's ridiculous floral-print shirt. It's not that the shop is all that _creepy_, of course; the servant is definitely not the most intimidating man Yugi's ever seen; it's more the reactions of the people around the teenagers that is setting them all on edge. They don't know why exactly Yack - or, more precisely, why Yugo - is so feared, only that he _is_...

_Maybe you should ask the lady if she knows anything_, 'Yami' murmurs, as his partner is now led to the changerooms at breakneck speed, a set of brightly coloured clothing thrust into his arms-

"-excuse me, Miss..."

She slowly turns back to stare in the boy's direction, trying to hide her fear with a casual smile. "Oh. Is something... wrong?"

The boy lowers his voice. "I was just wondering about Yugo." He puts on his very best smile. "I haven't really heard of him, you see."

"You haven't heard of Yugo?!", she hisses; then glances left and right, just in case this Yugo character happened to be standing right next to her. "But _everyone's _heard of-"

"I do hope there is no dawdling going on!", Yack calls from the front of the store, all brisk and buisnesslike; and instantly the lady pales, shaking her head as she takes a step back from Yugi.

"I'm sorry, but I have business to attend to."_  
_

And then she is gone, rushing away into the store to attend to her business (be it fictional or not); leaving the stunned boy with nothing for it but to try out his new clothes. Certainly, Yugi may not have his answer, but now one thing is clear in his mind:

Whoever this Yugo character is, he clearly has the ability to scare the local civilians out of their wits.

* * *

**UAB**

- From this point onwards, the perspective will be shifting between characters; I have marked that this section is Yugi's, and I'm hoping to rotate things as we go along - though we shall see.

- I'll be handing over the prompt once the fic has reached its conclusion - because this one was a plot-based prompt, and to include it at this stage would be to hand out free spoilers.

- However - part of the plot was to include an OC named Yugo - which has to be one of the strangest things I've done yet. I don't really appreciate OC fics, to be honest; and was givenvery little information about this Yugo, aside from his appearance (I was allowed to do as I wished with his nature, backstory, and so on) - so I was effectively challenged to write an OC from semi-scratch.

- So, here's hoping that this can stand as a half-decent OC fic...


	3. Chapter Two: Warning

**Chapter Two: Warning**

**HONDA**

Ten desperate minutes and a thick wad of cash later, the group is on the move again. Yack has ordered that their 'old clothes' be sent to the mansion; an order frantically seen to by the shop staff, making panicked phone calls as the six leave.

"I hope you do not mind the change of clothes." Yack barely glances over his shoulder as he speaks to them, fixated as Honda currently is on the troubled crowd they are wading through. The fiasco in the shop has not gone unnoticed, it seems, for the mob as a whole is stirring a little, slowing to stare with something bordering on accusation in their eyes; and to make matters worse, they no longer stare only at Yack, but at Honda and his friends as well. The brunette instinctively looks over at Jounouchi; the two of them have been in similar – albeit smaller scale – situations together, and right now Honda would like everyone in the group to stay intact. Murmuring apologies to those members of the crowd they brush aside, the two of them drop automatically into flanking positions on either side of their friends; just in case they are attacked by the mob.

Attempting to dilate the heavy atmosphere, Anzu speaks to the servant's back, though her rushed words and tense undertones do little to ease Honda's mind. "These… these clothes are very nice, but why…?"

The rest of her question is lost in a fresh burst of whispers from the crowd, which tightens a little more around the group.

"_…did you hear, she spoke…_"

_"…Yack…"_

_"...why?"_

"It is merely to make you presentable; there is no need for such formality afterwards", Yack says loudly, a dismissive wave of the hand causing the crowd to give them more space, even if the whispers become murmurs as a result.

Catching sight of himself in the reflection of the enormous airport windows, the brunette honestly can't say that this is at all _formal_ dress – not unless Hawaii's national costume happens to include thongs, a brightly coloured shirt far too large for the wearer, a 'flower garland' made from God knows what, a camera which may or may not work hung around his neck, and what must surely be the Worst Hat Ever. Resisting the urge to remove the straw monstrosity from his head, he instead chooses to glance regretfully over at Anzu – he feels utterly ridiculous, but she must surely feel ten times worse, given that her midriff is exposed to the world, despite her long skirt falling to her ankles.

To his surprise, she looks as though she is trying very hard not to giggle, tense as she is; evidently the boys look more absurd than she does. Ryou in particular looks very uncomfortable; he has been forced to hold his Millennium Ring, his shorts having no pockets to speak of – he looks to be constantly fighting some unseen battle, his teeth gritted and eyes narrowed. "N–no…", he murmurs occasionally, and it's all Honda can do to not rip the cursed thing from the pale boy's grip and fling it as hard as he can in the opposite direction. Such a sudden, violent action would surely aggravate the crowd, not to mention frighten Ryou into next week, worried as he already is.

_And the Ring would only come back…_

Suddenly, there's a tap on his shoulder; he instinctively takes a step sideways as he turns, hoping to prevent a possible king–hit from whoever this person might be. "Yes?"

A tanned hand comes down hard on his shoulder, as a hooded man with the bandanna hiding half his face closes in swiftly, separating Honda from the others as he half–steers, half–forces his prey into the crowd. "Shh. And don't struggle, or…" Something cold and sharp brushes the teen's side, and the brunette winces at the sensation. "Good. Now, look over at your buddies, and tell them that it's all fine." The other teen throws an arm around Honda's shoulders, and turns him to face Jounouchi, smiling and waving as Honda does the same. They have slowed, of course, looking almost worried; but as soon as they see that the boy is seemingly in the company of a friend, they relax. _'I'll catch up_,_' _Honda mouths, before he loses sight of the others altogether.

"Good", his kidnapper smirks – not that Honda can see his lips behind the red bandanna, but purple eyes crinkle slightly in a consequence of the smirk. "First, before you ask…" The young man pulls his bandanna down for a moment, snickering quietly at Honda's yelp of surprise.

"Marik!"

"Yeah, it's me. Now, listen up, 'cos I'm only warning you once: Don't go thinking that just because you're going to be in the best house in all Hawaii, you're going to be _safe_. Better watch your back, 'cos you can't trust anyone in that house – not Yugo, not Yack, not even your friends." Marik leans closer, voice dropping to a hiss. "_Especially _not your friends. They're all gonna try and kill each other, it's in them, they've all got different reasons for it. All they need is someone to bring out the instinct–"

"Liar!"

"Shut up." Purple eyes flash angrily, and he realizes far too late that he's said exactly the wrong thing; but he doesn't care, because this Marik – this half–friend – has gone and insulted all of his friends. Honda's not standing for that; so he opens his mouth again and tells him the simple truth, right to his face:

"My friends aren't killers."

Marik gives him a derisive snort, sharp and sarcastic. "Keep that up and you'll be dead for sure."

Unable to contain himself when faced with such libel, Honda takes a swing at the smaller boy, who merely ducks and slips in under his guard, holding the brunette close to him, a knife blade tickling the brunette's throat. Marik's eyes say that he wouldn't be against killing the other teen, if he were to make the wrong move; so Honda swallows nervously, watching the Egyptian with an expression he hopes is unreadable.

"All I'm trying to say is that Yugo brings out the worst in everyone. You go in there, you don't come out the same–" He glances over Honda's shoulder, and breaks off; a split second later, Honda is released, the blade jabbed briefly into the skin of his arm. The brunette turns to see Yack bearing down on him, all business, scanning the crowd like a sentry meerkat scans the landscape.

"Where's your friend?"

Honda blinks and turns, expecting to see Marik; but the Egyptian has disappeared, melting into the crowd as though he was never there. The brunette absent-mindedly rubs his arm; there is a single drop of blood, but nothing else. "Uh… I think he left." He forces a grin, and Yack's returning smile is every bit as plastic.

"Come along, then…"

* * *

"Ah, we're almost there!", Yack exclaims, the sudden shout scattering the people before them, and netting the servant Honda's full attention as the six youths step through the enormous double doors of the airport. The man gestures grandly to the sleek black limousine, parked outside in a place Honda's fairly sure isn't legal – it's sitting smack bang in the middle of a taxi bay, after all. Yugi and the others are standing near the car; though faced with such an extravagant show of wealth, the mob does not come anywhere near them.

Yack points a set of keys at the car, and the doors click in response. "We should leave now, if we are to leave in good time."

The boy climbs in after Jonouchi, playfully wrestling the blonde to his seat, pretending not to notice Ryou's sigh of relief when the latter is able to let go of his Millennium Ring at last and lay it upon the cushioned seat between Honda and himself. The pale boy leans back gratefully, his eyes closing in a show of exhaustion, and pretty soon Honda finds himself imitating the action; it's been a long day already, and the real show hasn't even started yet,_ and it's not like Marik's knife could possibly have been tipped with a sedative, there's just no way..._

* * *

_The radio blares in the limo as they drive, but no-one in the group is really listening. They've all got bigger worries - Honda's Marik-related nightmares, Ryou's possession fears, Jou's suspicions of Yack,Yugi's concerns over the crowd's __strange _behaviour, and Anzu's worries over the worries of the other four. They'd have preferred to have driven in a dead silence, but it's Yack who turns up the volume, Yack the outsider, who smiles to himself as he drives along, taking them to a place unknown.

_"And we now cut to this live speech from The Honorable Governoress of Egypt, Ishizu Ishtar, who with has just reopened the Egyptian exhibition in Domino City, Japan. She is accompanied by her brothers Marik and Rishid, and is wearing a lovely white dress, very professional, not sure who designed it, but-"_

_(Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to declare this museum-)_

_"What's this? An intruder on stage - not sure who it is, but it looks like he's got something to say! The crowd is going wild, he's a very attractive young man, and - ah, he's Seto Kaiba of Kaiba Corporation. He's talking to Marik, who doesn't look happy about that and-"_

_(So, I hear you killed your father. That's enough to get you disqualified - my company doesn't reward murde-)_

_"Oh no! They're fighting! Yes, this is live from Japan, I'm watching a battle here on stage! It looks like Kaiba has the upper hand-"_

_(Help! Securit-)_

_"Thank goodness, the strange man has been pulled off poor Marik! The security for Ishizu is certainly very tight, isn't it? This is Sally Sparrow, reporting from this live event in Japan, where Marik Ishtar has just been attacked by Seto Kaiba-"_

_Yack's smile stays fixed to his face for the full duration of the five-hour drive, because everything is going to plan. _

_Master Yugo will be pleased._

* * *

Honda doesn't remember much of the sleepy stagger from the car – up the elegantly cobbled driveway, down a small path lined with hedges that have been cut into the shape of roaring dragons he vaguely recognizes, across a picturesque bridge–over–a–pond that reminds him of this bloke called Monet for some odd reason,through revolving doors that nearly blind him with reflected light as he approaches, down a hallway where his toes are sinking into soft red carpet and he has to lean on a white wall to keep his balance, so on and so forth – but he _does _remember when he starts to wake up. This happens when he first gets the chance to yawn and rub his eyes; when he is no longer fighting gravity to keep walking.

From the blurred memories of three minutes earlier and the sight of an overly bright shirt disappearing into the room, he figures that Yack has left them to gaze about with wide eyes at the greeting room, an overly lavish affair; and as Jounouchi explains to him, the servant has gone to fetch Yugo from his study. It's not like the brunette is really trying to work things out, though - his attention is held by the sparkling fountain before him, a dazzling and very attractive thing. It's a strange work of art, undoubtedly custom made, for it features a battle between many Duel Monsters Honda recognizes, as well as many more he does not. Steel Blue–Eyes Whites with sapphire eyes, ebony Red–Eyes with ruby eyes, and amethyst Dark Magicians all seem to spurt watery attacks at the centrepiece – an Exodia as tall as Honda's forearm is long, an orb of water between its hands as it prepares to annihilate every last monster there.

There is an instant, attentive silence at this, as they wait; the room absolutely quiet but for what Honda judges to be Yugo's soft footfalls as their mysterious benefactor draws near–

–and then it _explodes _when the man steps into sight, beginning with the sharp, harsh sound of a choked gasp from Jounouchi; the fireball fuelled by Honda's own muttered "No way", the dull thump of Ryou's nearly falling ontop of Honda as he staggers backwards in surprise; Anzu's high–pitched yelp topped only in volume by the loud and grandiose voice of Yugo Moti, as he greets them.

"Hello, and it really is an _honor!_", he says, in a tone rather condescending; there is a regality about him that is only emphasized by the suit and tie. He is a regal-looking man; or at least, he _might _be, if only he didn't look so very familiar to Honda, a perfect copy of someone else, if you didn't count the grey eyes. "My baby brother, so talented!", he laughs; stepping forwards towards the group, a hand extended – but since it is not taken up by anyone, he is forced to retract it shortly afterwards, brushing a piece of hair out of his eyes. One eyebrow raises cockily, as he sizes the group up. "Yack, you didn't bring me _statues_ again, did you?"

The boy Yugo Moti now appears to looking at stands utterly stunned, his jaw hanging open for several seconds. "I… uh…"

"Ah, good. He speaks." Yugo beckons to Yugi, feigning impatience, though his eyes are dancing with mirth. "Well, come on! 'Hello' might be something good to start with, yes?"

Yugi consults his shoes in reply. "So, uh... I - I really don't know how to say this, but-."

Yugo grins from ear to ear, providing a stark contrast to the other boy's nervousness. "Try anyway. It'll do your vocabulary a world of good."

"I... I... uh... I have..."

"Have a _what? _Come now, you're usually so confident - oh, don't look so surprised! I know all about you; you could almost say that I'm your biggest fan, but it goes much deeper than just _that._" The grin goes slightly sharkish, as Yugo gently turns Yugi to face his friends. "Got something to say yet?"

Yugi swallows, then takes a deep breath, and basically blurts the most obvious thing Honda has ever heard in his life, though it's also one of the most unbelievable things he's ever heard (and he's heard a _lot_). It's short, it's directly to the point, and it leaves all the others in a stunned silence.

"I have a _twin._"

"And his name is...?", Yugo asks; Honda could swear that he's _enjoying _this, enjoying playing with them all, enjoying watching Yugi struggle and strain to get his words out. He stands confidently, that way-too-familiar face tilted a little to the side, as he waits for a response; and he gets it from a semi-stunned, semi-nervous Yugi:

"Yugo Moti."

* * *

**UAB**

- Yugo will be hopefully horror material, but not a Sue. Yes, despite being a super-rich, super-confident, Yugi look-alike, and a Yugi fanboy to boot, he's not gonna be a Sue. Yes, I know this is going to be an uphill battle.

- This story is gauged at about ten chapters in length, depending on how long the whole plot takes to unravel.


	4. Chapter Three: Meeting

**Chapter Three: Meeting**

* * *

**JOUNOUCHI**

* * *

_No._

_Freaking._

**_Way._**

Following this obvious and unremarkable reaction to discovering that your best friend has either a twin or a really good doppelganger who happens to be stupidly rich, Jounouchi's thoughts drift to something a little less obvious – he decides to attempt a complete denial of what he's seeing despite all evidences to the contrary. There can't possibly be two Yugis, he tells himself – or rather, there can't be _three _Yugis, because there's already two. And seeing as _those _Yugis are already Yugi and other Yugi, that could make naming this one really har–

–ah, what is he thinking? _Other _other Yugi is their illustrious benefactor Yugo, as stupid as that sounds (and not just the stupid name – honestly, what kind of parent would call their twin sons Yugi and Yugo?). With that name comes a distinction between him and Yugi, one that annihilates the admittedly weak denial argument. The blonde straightens slightly, now utterly through with the lightning – fast process of acceptance; though he'll be sure to complain about the problems associated with having two physical Yugis at some point, in addition to the extra nonphysical Yugi.

They're not _quite _identical, of course – Yugo's eyes are a curious shade of grey, and there is an unusual white line running along the back of his right hand – but other than that, Jounouchi honestly cannot tell the twins apart. The wealthier teen even has his own Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck; identical to his brother's Puzzle, shimmering in exactly the same way as Yugi's own Puzzle does. His fine clothes and his suit are temporary, that much is obvious; were Yugo to swap outfits with Yugi, the blonde would be sure to get them mixed up.

There are some differences about his character that are not appearance-related, however; Jounouchi quietly takes note of these differences, because if their benefactor happens to turn on them for some reason, being able to tell Yugo from Yugi could be vital. For starters, he seems to be very sure of himself - where Yugi stares dumbly at him, Yugo looks hardly surprised to see anyone. He's smiling gently at Anzu's "B–but _how?"_, as though she is some long-lost friend who has merely lost her memory; not offering any form of explanation, yet appearing to be so much so at ease that an explanation for his existence is simply not _required_. He does not demand acceptance; he merely assumes that he is already accepted, and does this so confidently that Jounouchi can feel himself falling for it.

The way Yugo carries himself is different from Yugi, too – where the other slouches slightly, their benefactor stands with his back ramrod straight, the sides of his feet perfectly straight and his shoulders flung back. Calm, confident, yet cocky for some reason Jounouchi can't quite pick – he walks towards the blonde with a slight swagger in his gait, head held high and one hand out to shake. Big grey eyes bore into the boy's brown ones, until Jounouchi is forced to look away out of circumstance; only when he glances back does he see that Yugo is smiling.

"You have a penchant for Duel Monsters as well?" The smile changes to a smirk; almost nasty, though his voice is light and polite. "I play a Dragon deck – an Armed Dragon deck, if I'm going to be specific."

"Hey, me too - I play a Dragon deck!", the blonde grins, happy that Yugo's finally talking a language he can understand. "It's all about supporting the Red–Eyes Black Dragon with lots of Warriors an–"

"Maybe we can talk later? I am the champion of this island, so I am sure I could give you a few tips...?" the Yugi lookalike replies smoothly, and somewhere under the indignation, there's a part of Jounouchi that resonates with the doppelganger just enough to keep him from saying anything stupid. After all, this teenager gives off such an air of confidence that even if he didn't happen to look almost exactly like Yugi, the blonde would have hesitated to insult someone so clearly skilled. The blonde watches this mysterious teenager as he turns and walks off, feeling more than a little starstuck as Yugo saunters over to first Honda, then Anzu, and lastly Ryou–

–oh _God._

Jounouchi tenses when he sees it, first impressions wiped clean from his brain in a split second – Yugo looks _hungry_, he's found the Millennium Ring, and his grey eyes are glinting like the light glints off a really nasty steel knife. His little pink tongue is darting around his lips, as he takes hold of the Ring, as he asks Ryou something; something about the Ring, Jounouchi assumes, given how focused the Yugi lookalike seems to be on it. The other boy fidgets uncomfortably, struggling to answer Yugo; eventually mumbling something about how with power comes responsibility, then–

"Do you know, I think I could do with a bite to eat!", Yugo cries, walking to the center of the room and clapping his hands together. He looks around at the others, grinning from ear to ear. "It's been a while since I had guests, so do forgive me for being so enthusiastic!"

Ryou instantly relaxes, glancing around to see if anyone has noticed; aside from the blonde, no–one else seems to have spotted that odd little moment. Catching Jounouchi's quizzical look, he frowns and shakes his head slightly. _There's nothing to worry about_, his expression says; _Yugo really was just hungry._ The blonde might have actually believed him, if only Ryou hadn't lied in the past as to what was going on - especially with regards to anything involving that Millennium Ring of his...

Six chairs and two cafe–style round tables are brought in by servants rushing, and Yugo laughs merrily as he calls for orange juice and biscuits. Sweet things aren't exactly Jounouchi's favourite thing, of course, but he eats what he's given – food's food, after all, and of course the master of the house has access to all the best foods. Even after the whole Ryou incident, he doubts that Yugo's going to try and kill the lot of them; or not just _yet_, anyway. It just wouldn't make sense.

"These shortbreads are from Scotland, of course", Yugo smiles, nibbling delicately on the treat he holds; a wedge of shortbread that looks a bit like a small slice of pizza in its shape. "They are called petticoat tails – Queen Mary is supposed to have named them."

There is an odd silence from the others, and Jounouchi doubts that this remark even qualifies as small talk; it is more of a boast, an indication that not only does this self–proclaimed twin owns more than anyone else in the room, he knows more than anyone else in the room as well.

_Sheesh, this guy's ego…_

It is only the fact that Yugo looks so much like Yugi that forces Jounouchi to merely finish his own biscuit in silence and reach for another, holding his peace.

* * *

They're all pretty tired after the whole crowd thing, and outside the weather has turned foul; the humidity getting ever worse as enormous storm clouds close in outside. Yugo's air conditioners are thrown into high gear, but the host explains that they will take some time to work; for now, there is little the friends can do but attempt to distract each other from the heat with mindless chatter. Bored out of his brain as soon as the food is gone and with his mouth left dry from the biscuits, Jounouchi finds himself gazing around at the room, observing how the servants have seemingly disappeared into thin air, Yack included. It is as though they are all alone; yet the blonde is sure that they cannot be. There must be some hidden cameras or microphones or perhaps both…

Yugo, of course, wastes absolutely no time in informing Yugi of his lengthy backstory, utterly focused on describing every last detail to the twin – how he has lived with his dear mother after she broke up with Yugi's father, how she just happened to be rich. It's all utterly unbelievable, or would be if it weren't for the whole Yugo–looks–like–Yugi–and–is–super–wealthy thing; Jounouchi is willing to bet that Yugo has made up at least some of the story. What eventually makes Jounouchi sit up and pay attention is when Yugo begins to talk about card games; though he seems to talk far less about strategy than he does about the Millennium Items and precious cards. "I own some of the rarest cards in the world, you know. Not as many as what can be found in Seto Kaiba's collection, but they are still rare."

"Oh! You know Kaiba?"

"Of course – as one collector to another, we have a healthy respect for each other. Although… well, let's just say that he has made it rather clear that I'll never get hold of the three Blue–Eyes Whites." He laughs. "Such a pity – they would have been such lovely gems in my collection! Especially considering my Dragon deck… but never mind all that. I have compensated for my disadvantage, I think you will find." The doppelganger abruptly leans forwards, grey eyes glinting under the yellowish light of the chandelier. "Yugi, we simply _must _play each other!" A sideways glance at Jounouchi. "And you too, of course…"

Yugi blinks. "Uh – okay, then."

The one–sided conversation continues, with Yugi receiving some very pertinent questions from Yugo on the nature of his strategy, on his skill level, on who exactly he has defeated and how, so on and so forth. Jounouchi is for the most part left out of proceedings; with only Yugo's constant, near–genuine smile to keep his interest.

"Would you say", Yugo asks at one point, gesturing flamboyantly to Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, "that it is this pendant of yours that allows you to win your games?" He inclines his head, though he never takes his gaze off Yugi. "I have… heard a little about it."

The other teenager frowns, his eyes flickering towards Yugo's own Puzzle. "I would have thought" you'd know…"

He trails off, but their benefactor simply shrugs in reply. "My pendant is simply an experiment – a copy of your pendant. I did hear that it was this… shall we say, _item _of yours, that allowed you to play so well."

"Oh. Well, there's another me inside this – it's called the Millennium Puzzle." The boy gives a faint, brief smile. "He's good at games, so he helps me out sometimes."

_'Good at games?' 'Helps me out sometimes?' _If Jounouchi hadn't already guzzled his drink, he's certain that he'd have drunk some for the express purpose of doing a spit–take. Those are probably the two greatest understatements he's ever heard – the other Yugi is _incredible _at any game, and basically takes Yugi over whenever Yugi's playing!

…Then again, it might be a good idea to let this weird twin guy believe that Yugi's not got anything overly valuable. After that odd behavior with Ryou, Jounouchi wouldn't want any of the Items to be taken – and if Yugo knows more than he's letting on, then they're playing right into his hands.

"I believe I would like to meet him...", the grey–eyed twin muses – then stands as though making some grand speech or other, though he's merely announcing that the party will now move to the 'lounge–room', which Jounouchi guesses is a room with lounges in it. It's not like any of them really want to move given the heat, but Yugo insists, and so they get going before he can pull out some lengthy explanation of why exactly that room is far superior to this room. It's going to be uncomfortable either way, which is really the only reason Jounouchi bothers obeying Yugo with a minimum amount of snarking; he is rewarded with a smile and an offhand comment about how Yugo keeps his card collections in that room.

* * *

As they walk down the corridor, the blonde catches Yugo at it again; the teen is hovering next to Ryou, watching the Millennium Ring with keen interest as the pale boy shows it to him with a tired, almost irritated look. "Do you get an 'other you', like my brother?", he asks earnestly, and Ryou flinches visibly; Yugo's face immediately becoming full of concern that could be real or faked; it's impossible to tell which.

"I do, but he's... not very nice."

_Not very nice _is a huge understatement, of course; maybe even bigger than the 'Other me is a good at games' that came out of Yugi's mouth – forget the elephant, this thing is even more obviously overlooked than a prehistoric mammoth in a prison cell. Yami Bakura has tried to kill Yugi and all his friends more times than you could wave a stick at, he's stabbed his host, given Ryou amnesia, associated with Marik, the list goes on and on –

"Is he good at games?"

Ryou actually stops walking, looking absolutely stunned; Jounouchi can't blame him. Even if Yugo _doesn't_ happen to know all about Yami Bakura as the blonde suspects he does, that is still an utterly insensitive question to be asking given Ryou's earlier response.

"I… guess so?" The pale boy shrugs. "I don't really know. I don't remember anything of what he's done, people have to tell me."

"I suppose I would like to meet him too, then…"

"Oh no, you really wouldn't!", Ryou yelps; but Yugo's already increased his pace, trotting ahead of the group towards the loungeroom.

"These pictures to your left are _genuine _Monets, by the way…"

* * *

**UAB**

Not much to say about this one, so I'll ask questions instead. Yay for questions! :D

- Thoughts on Yugo? He _is _meant to be inconsistent in his behavior at this point - so yeah. Still, I'd like to know what y'all think of him.

- Everyone onboard with the plot so far? We're in third person limited and shifting characters like crazy, so I should probably check. And while I'm on that topic: Some characters are getting neglected in certain chapters (like Anzu in Jou and Honda's chapters) because of character perspectives - Jou and Honda tend to focus more on one or two characters, Anzu and Yugi seem to look out a bit more for everyone, and Ryou... probably thinks a lot, xDDD

- Is the audience for OC and nonship fics just really quiet, or am I doing something wrong here? Silence worries me a little.

- Anyone feel like any of the characters have acted OOC so far? Marik is the only person with an ex(cuse?)planation for his odd behavior; everyone else should be fairly IC. Haven't written Yugi much, though.


	5. Chapter Four: Dueling

**Chapter Four: Dueling**

* * *

**ANZU**

* * *

Feeling more than a little ignored, now trailing behind the others, Anzu finds herself... well, not exactly _tuning out_, but certainly thinking. Oh, Yugo was seemingly fascinated that she could possibly be Yugi's girlfriend (or as she put it, 'sort of not quite kind of friend–who–is–a–girl'), but as soon as Anzu mentioned that she didn't play games, Yugo simply seemed to lose all interest in her – the same went for Honda, who she notices is also hanging back a bit as he trudges onwards. From that point on, it's blatantly obvious that he's been concentrating his efforts to be friendly towards his brother, Jounouchi, and Ryou; and though Anzu guesses that he doesn't get too many visitors, she can't help but feel a little put out.

_Why is everyone else in the city terrified of him, though…? _That's the one thing that doesn't make sense here – Yugo, so far, has been rather friendly towards those he likes and coldly polite towards everyone else. Regardless of how Anzu might feel about his manners, he is, simply put, _not scary_; it's difficult to imagine him being at all fearsome, let alone holding an entire city under his boot. Jounouchi seems to be a little on edge still, but the others have mostly relaxed (or in Ryou's case, relaxed as best he's able to) – and why not? It's safe here, right?

_It doesn't explain why everyone in the airport was so scared, though. Perhaps it was nothing, but still..._

"Hey, Honda…" The teenager drops back to where she is without another word, staring straight ahead; his face is clearly troubled, wearing an expression which makes Anzu forget all about her question about Yugo's odd nature. "Oh! Is something wrong?"

The brunette thinks about it for a while, then sighs and shakes his head, massaging his temples. "Really, it's nothing. It's just... You know that guy who started talking to me in the airport?"

"Yeah?"

"He told me something, I guess. And I've just been... thinking about it, that's all."

Anzu goes to ask him for more information, but Yugo starts calling out their names, telling them not to dawdle, and so they catch up in relative silence.

* * *

Eventually, after some trudging down the corridor, lined with flower paintings that are apparently Monet's work (a fact Yugo has reminded them of at least six times by the time they make it to the end), they come to a locked door, which after Yugo has typed in a password, slides back to reveal a room that has the others' jaws dropping.

"Wow!", Jounouchi exclaims, bouncing in ahead of Yugo, who follows him with an expression almost serene, one arm sweeping about grandly.

"This is the lounge-room."

Blinking and rubbing her eyes a moment before she resumes her staring, Anzu can't help but disagree. The room has a few lounges, but they number only three, and are pushed to the sides of the room as though an afterthought. The place might better be described as a _games_-room - from the huge television dominating the far wall with all the little games controllers under it to the floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with hundreds of colourful video game cases and little cardboard boxes marked with things like 'Snap' and 'Jigsaw - Kittens In Basket, 10,000 Pcs' and 'Duel Monsters - Structure Deck 65, Dragon's Cool-Sounding Thingymabob', from what appears to be a crisscrossing pattern of hatches in center of the wooden floor to the elaborate control panel just in front of it, the place gives off that nerdy, entertainment vibe.

Yugo hardly seems to notice any of the place's awesomeness, of course - though he does smirk at their awestruck faces, looking rather pleased that he has stunned them with this display of power. "There are only a few games in here, but I think you will find them sufficient to wile away the time whilst this storm persists. If we do happen to lose power, I have candles."

_Storm...? _

As if on cue, thunder growls outside the house, sending shivers right down Anzu's spine, leaving extra sweat droplets down her back to add to the collection already formed as a consequence of the humidity. _Oh, right._

"Only a _few_ games?" Jounouchi stares at Yugo as though he's just lost his mind. "How many games do you even _have_ in he-"

"A few hundred?" Yugo tilts his head quizzically, going to a shelf and idly flicking through the titles. "I suppose I never really bothered to count - but if you like, I could get one of my servants to do it later... Anyway." He turns to Yugi, grey eyes glittering with eagerness - and something else, something that Anzu can't quite pick. "We should play Duel Monsters first. You and I, Jounouchi and Ryou. As for Honda and Anzu..." He thinks about this for a moment, and not for the first time the girl is reminded of a spoiled child who has declared himself the leader of a group of smaller children - he is effectively telling them all what to do.

"I think I'll sit and watch, actually", she smiles. "I don't mind doing that..."

"Hey Jounouchi, isn't this that shooter game you're always going on about?", Honda calls from the back of the room, waving a box. The blonde's eyes go wide at the sight, and he grits his teeth. "Super Kill'em Beat'em Up And Get Pretty Girls... Number Nine?! That game only just came out!"

"Oh, cool! Mind if I beta-test it for you, then?"

"Honda, you total-"

"Uh-uh!", Yugo tuts, to the tune of snickering, a beanbag being dragged from a low shelf and across the floor, and the whirring of a console starting up, its fans spluttering against the sticky heat. "Before you can play that game, you'll have to play me first!" The Yugi-lookalike grabs hold of Ryou, pulling him close. "Now, Ryou can't be as good as me, and you can't be as good as Yugi-"

"Hey!"

"-so we'll do this two-on-two. Saves time, gives you a chance." With that, the doppelganger takes off his jacket, pressing a few buttons on the control panel as he calmly ignores a Jounouchi about to lose his temper. Anzu isn't sure whether to smile or frown - on the one hand, the blonde is a sight almost laughable, but on the other... Yugo seems to be baiting Jounouchi, trying to cause a scene.

_It's as though there's something he wants to distract us all from... but what?_

"I daresay though, Ryou and I will make a good team", Yugo smiles, one hand resting gently on the pale boy's shoulder as he helps the latter to shuffle his deck. Sitting behind the two of them, Anzu sees that hand slip a little lower, then it darts downwards, towards the boy's ribs-

-and her attention is distracted for a few vital seconds by the sight of four sleek white towers rising up from four of the hatches, each adorned with bars of blue LEDs, displaying each player's life-points at head height as higher up, beams of light shoot forth to create a projection of the game field on the floor. They're dazzling, eye-grabbing, and by the time she remembers to look back at Yugo, he's standing innocently again, arms by his sides.

It's only when Ryou starts _laughing _that she realizes what must have happened; Yugo could so easily have pulled the Ring from his grasp in that moment of distraction, much as she doesn't want to believe it. The laugh starts as a snigger, a high, nasty keening sound, deeping to a lower chuckle and lastly a full-throated _gahahahaha_, Ryou's white bangs spiking upwards as he strokes the rough cord his partner surely hung around his neck a few seconds ago, eyes narrowing. "My, my. The Pharaoh and a friend, all for me?" He licks his chops. "This is going to be _beautiful_..."

"Jounouchi, I'll give you the pleasure of going first!", Yugo calls, but Yami Bakura turns on him. "Whoever said _you _were in charge? I'll go first, thanks very much."

To Anzu's surprise, the other boy doesn't object, merely smiles gently. "Of course."

Yami Bakura plays a few cards - all facedowns, of course - then declares the end of his turn. Play passes to Jounouchi, but as soon he tries to use a Polymerization in his hand to combine his Baby Dragon and Time Wizard into the 'utterly unbeatable' Thousand Dragon-

"Trap Hole!", the pale teenager growls, casually flipping up a card with just the right timing. Jounouchi's attempt to place a face-down Negate Attack and save his life points is destroyed with a Mystic Typhoon from Yami Bakura - Yugo passes his turn, and Yugi's monster meets a similar fate to Jounouchi's. Clearly, Yami Bakura is owning this Duel; he laughs again as he draws his next card, and then-

-"I hate people with annoying laughs", Yugo murmurs, and pulls the Ring from around the teenager's neck. "Are you okay, Ryou? You don't like wearing this, do you?" So saying, Yugo dangles the pendant in front of the dazed teenager, until with a mumbled no and a shrug of embarrassment, Ryou takes the thing back. The boy's next move is to play a fairly weak monster of only twelve hundred attack points - some Egyptian mummy horror show or other - then attack Jounouchi directly. The blonde winces a bit as a hologram of a headless, bandaged corpse appears on the field, then proceeds to thump him over the head with its sarcophagus; but of course, he can't feel anything.

Yugo grins. "Nice work!"

Ryou doesn't say much to that.

Anzu watches intently as play continues, and Ryou and Yugo proceed to lose to Jounouchi and Yugi no less than five times in a row. Their benefactor doesn't make a move towards Ryou's Ring again (if he ever did; her memory of those few seconds is somewhat blurred), and he barely shows his disappointment when they lose - he simply calls for another match, and another, and another. His Level Dragons are powerful, but they are handled badly - it is as though he has rarely played against a human opponent, if he ever has...

Suddenly, the lights go out, leaving the six of them in a room with no windows and no light at all. Yugo coughs politely. "Everyone, if you would be so kind to stay still, so you do not hurt yourselves? I believe I have matches in my pocket."

There is a pause, dominated by the concerned murmurs of Jounouchi and Yugi, the rustle of fabric as the boy goes through his pockets-

_Wait a minute, Yugo's moving!_

She can hear the muffled tapping of his shoes as he walks - one step, two steps, three steps - then, a thump and a squeak - what can only be Ryou's voice hanging on the air, Ryou's gasp as the wind is knocked out of his lungs, Ryou's whine of pain. Honda's voice goes up in concern, there's the sound of running feet and something _tearing_ (it sounds like fabric, though the girl automatically assumes the worst) , Anzu freezing on the spot as the area just in front of her descends into a shuffling sort of chaos-

And all of a sudden, Ryou shrieks, the shuffling becoming a scuffle as he thrashes against something on the floor. A moment later, there's the dull whistle of something moving through the air - and then Anzu's knocked backwards over the couch by a flying, flailing, wailing Ryou as something big and heavy drives the two of them into the floor, something lighter whistling over her head. The girl tries not to think about what just missed them, as she lies on her back with the pale teen limp on top of her, a warm liquid dripping onto her cheek and running down her neck- _wait a sec! _

Slowly, tentatively, Anzu reaches up, then immediately wishes she hadn't - Ryou has been injured, she can feel the same warm liquid in his hair. He doesn't even flinch as she touches him gently, blindly searching for the source of the liquid - then pulls her fingers back abruptly, realizing too late what that liquid must be. The girl can't see it, but she can imagine it - _blood_, all over her hands and all over Ryou, God knows how he's been disfigured, and is he even _breathing-_

All that keeps her from screaming is what she sees in the sudden flicker of the blue LED lights a moment later; the scream choked back by a fresh wave of fear. See, a huge _thing _is perched on top of the two friends, an enormous creature with claws like carving knives, a shaggy ruff of fur around its neck. Its canine muzzle is pointing towards the door as it sniffs the air - once, twice-

-then the light is gone, and with it the weight of the creature; there are a few muffled _thumps _as it lopes away, but little more after that. The room is quiet, but for her own heavy breathing, the occasional rumble of thunder, and the gentle _drip_, _drip_, _drip_ of something she wishes she hadn't just remembered.

But before she can build up the courage to scream again, her poor traumatized brain decides that now would be an excellent time to faint.

* * *

**UAB**

- Misleading chapter title is misleading, hmm?

- I have no regrets over the cliffhanger. None whatsoever. ;)

- I will not go total gorefic on you people, but the rating's been shifted to compensate for this little bit of story. I'll promise this, though: We won't be seeing any entrails or anything like that.

- Lookee, it's kind of sort of a dueling scene! Hooray!


	6. Chapter Five: Remembering

**Chapter Five: Remembering**

* * *

**RYOU**

* * *

The pale teen stirs, opening his eyes to a grand view of _absolutely nothing_. In fact, he can't be sure his eyes are _open _- because the world looks exactly the same as it does when his eyes are shut. Ryou turns his head this way and that in some confusion, searching for a better angle; perhaps he is in a bed, and the light cannot get under the covers? He can't feel anything at the moment (or rather, he _can_, but its all very dulled), so this might just be possible. Yes, yes, he tells himself, he's not on some creepy island with a creepy man who acts nice to everyone but him, who probably strangled him in the dark. He's lying in his own bed in his own home, and if he just moves his head a little more, he'll see some light-

_-only he doesn't._

It takes a while for his tired, cluttered, hazy mind to realize that there is actually no light at all for him to see by. He is now in complete darkness, with absolutely no idea of what sort of place he's in or how he got there; all he can do now is lie still and wait for his other senses to return.

As they oblige, one by one, Ryou begins to hear the distant beeping of some sort of alarm, but is distracted by the discovery that he is lying on something soft and warm in the deathly silence, something with a fading floral scent to it. It's a bit like a heated mattress, only lumpy in places, and it's definitely not very wide - he almost loses his balance and ends up on the floor when he tries to roll onto his back. The pale teen just manages to rock back onto his stomach, though, saving himself from the floor as his mind slowly shifts into a higher gear. The mattress is a very bad metaphor for what Ryou's on top of, because he isn't actually on top of an inanimate object. Nope, he's lying on something organic, something breathing - and given that he can feel fabric under him in areas, the pale teen guesses that this something is a person. He gets his confirmation when his fingers brush a set that definitely isn't his.

At this point, Ryou would have – and to be honest, probably _should _have – panicked, but for now, his addled mind prevents him from really doing anything about this latest conclusion. Instead, the boy just sort of lies there in a half-doze, feeling a warm, fuzzy sort of pride wash over him; he's figured out what one of the objects in his environment is, and that brings with it a strange sort of comfort. The pale teen stays very still atop Whoever It is for some time, because it's honestly rather comfortable there; he's somewhat used to the lumps and bumps under him, he could almost fall asleep right here and-

-and that's when he realizes that his cheek feels rather cold. He reaches up to touch it, promptly wishing he hadn't shortly afterwards; because now his fingers are tipped with liquid, a thin, runny liquid that from the way it's dripping, is quite likely to be all over his makeshift mattress. Ryou's own yelp of terror is enough to wake up his mind fully, let alone his rolling straight off the other person and onto the hard wooden floor.

"Owww..."

The jarring thump cutting through his hearing causes him to remember that the electronic beeping is still going, but now he's distracted from it by the sudden realization that his head really, _really_ hurts; it's pounding worse than the one time Yami Bakura decided to punish his host by playing loud and obnoxious music inside his brain. Reaching up to touch the area where the pain is worst, Ryou can't help but whimper a little as his fingers brush what can only be described as a gash high on his forehead; there is more liquid all around this area, some of it in his hair, matting in his fringe, a little drying into a flaky sort of crust. For the most part, however, it's all still rather wet; so the pale boy's fingers come away warm and sticky, and he has to fight hard to resist the urge to scream. Even though he can't see the blood all over his hand, the pain and the liquid alone is enough to tell him exactly what has happened, even before he experimentally sticks a finger in his mouth to check the taste - it's salty, just as expected.

Ryou Bakura is bleeding, quite a bit, and all over the floorboards.

_Did... Did **he **do this?_

That's his first coherent thought, and he guesses that the idea is certainly possible, if he ignores his final memories before his head went _smack _into the wall. Tearing a strip of fabric from his shirt and holding it to his face in an automatic effort to try and stop the bleeding, wincing as the rag makes contact with the cut, the boy decides to distract himself from the present as best he can by focusing on the past; an unusual effort for him, but still a valid one. He runs over the last seconds before he went unconscious - the lights had gone out, but had Yugo reassured them that he had matches. How Ryou wishes that he hadn't believed the guy, hadn't remained so still - because he had heard Yugo take a step closer to him in the dark, two, three; and then _someone grabbed his neck in both hands._

(beep)

_The pale boy shrieked as whoever it was tightened their grip, but his noises of general dismay were soon reduced to pathetic squeaks as something - a fist, a knee, he couldn't be sure - drove hard into his stomach. He was flung to the floor a moment later; where he lay prone, frozen in fear of the knowledge that someone had just tried to strangle him, and now he was all alone. Shivering a little in the dark, Ryou had been dimly aware of the others, running to try and help him, or maybe that was accidentally hurt him; he wasn't really sure - then something (someone?) landed on top of him, scrambling around and presumably trying to get at either his neck or the Ring or both._

_His flight or fight responses kicked in at last somewhere around that point, and so Ryou struggled like he had never struggled before, bucking and thrashing underneath his latest attacker - but then, there was a low growl and a tearing noise from not too far away, and all of a sudden the pale teen was basically sailing across the room. He screamed out his last bit of air in surprise as opposed to real terror - in the dark, he felt as though he was flying, though of course he had been scooped up and then thrown in all of about half a second, and thrown harder than it should ever have been physically been possible to have been thrown. Ryou hit someone mid-trajectory, his ridiculous momentum carrying them along for the ride, but then his head met the wall with a sickening _smack_–_

(beep)

–and that's all he can remember; he guesses that the whole being thrown thing was responsible for the injury. To be honest, the pale boy might have have smiled, if it wasn't for the pain racking his head at the current moment; here he is, hurt and bleeding over something he doesn't even like very much. That ridiculous Millennium Ring has caused him nothing but trouble, given him nothing but danger; if only Ryou wasn't its guardian and all, he'd have been more than happy to have flung it deep into a furnace (the volcano metaphor doesn't bear thinking about; ever since Ryou read _The Lord of the Rings_, he's always felt a bit bitter about how Frodo managed it and the pale teen still hasn't). At present, he doesn't seem to have it; but it's most likely lying on the floor beside him, right about _here_...

Wait a second.

_The Ring!_

Ryou blinks, sweeping one hand across the floor in a quick search, but comes up with nothing but a fistful of air. As he slowly turns in a circle, searching for his Millennium Item in the pitch blackness, he finds himself shivering in fear, heart banging away inside his chest. The pale teen shuffles nervously across the floor on elbows and knees, keeping the fabric pressed to his temples as best he can. He mustn't let anyone else have the Ring, can't let anyone else have it – that's why he takes the cursed thing with him everywhere. After a deep breath, the pale boy takes a cautious step forwards, a step away from whoever's on the floor; a step away from the one thing he knows is in the room.

He doesn't like doing this - but if he doesn't, someone could get _hurt_...

(beep)

The pale boy shivers on the spot at the noise, and takes another shaky step, thinking of when he found out what might happen if someone other than himself was to carry the Ring – he'd been informed of the consequences when he'd tried to throw away the artifact, throw it quite literally off a cliff without really knowing what he was doing. The events leading to that were rather odd, he supposes; one minute, he had been idling in his room, trying to ignore the manic laughter and wild celebrations of a demon who was rather pleased at the thought that it had survived a Shadow Game, and the next - there he was, staring down at the raging surf, as he prepared to drop the thing over the edge of the cliff.

Still, that day was the day Ryou learned a pretty nasty lesson, so he guesses that that's what really counts about it - and more to the point the lesson came when he was getting ready to destroy the Ring, not when he was moving from his house to the beach. _Never mind what you don't remember_, the teen's dazed mind croons, _surely it can't be that important_, and he believes it for takes a third step, then a fourth, remembering the lesson in all its detail, even as his free hand trails over the floor, searching without success for his Millennium Item. He does this slowly at first, but then faster as his fears build into a panic that perhaps, just perhaps, someone has taken this very dangerous object and done something foolish with it. He begins to mumble softly as he fails again and again to locate it - because what if it's gone? What if someone else has found it first? And if so, _then _what if...?

(beep)

_Oh, the Ring had looked so beautiful in that moment before Ryou was due to drop it, even if the single eye engraved upon the gold had stared at him in a manner almost accusing. In his addled mind, he could already see it flying over the edge, falling down towards the rocks - it would be a golden comet for a few seconds, with maybe a faint splash as it sank, then nothing at all would be left. The stupid Item would be gone, gone from Ryou's life and gone from everyone else's..._

_'Imagine, if you will, that I wash up on some beach or other, and am picked up, put on out of... let us say, curiosity.' A slight pause, then the Ring Spirit went on: 'Do you realize that you are the first in at least a hundred people to have put me on and not died?'_

_And Ryou could only look on in horror as the Ring flashed, showing the boy a memory that wasn't his at all. Smoke poured from a stranger's open mouth, choking him even as he tried to scream - not that he really __needed_ to be choked, Yami Bakura had pointed out in the running commentary he was giving, because the victim's innards were consumed by fire in seconds. There was a brief flash of light as the flames broke through the skin, and a moment later all was quiet; nothing was left but fora grey powder, drifting in the breeze as the Ring clattered to the floor with a heavy _thunk..._

___And slowly, slowly, he had taken one wretched step after another away from the cliff, eyes wide and hands trembling._

(beep)

And slowly, slowly, Ryou takes one wretched step after another into the darkness, away from the comforting presence of the one object he knows something about, with eyes wide and hands trembling. He moves further into the room, one hand over his injury and the other sweeping the floor, until eventually-

The teenager squeaks in surprise as he bumps into what feels like a lounge-chair; leaping back at the odd feeling of his head sinking into something soft and padded and almost falls over himself as a result, so worried is he by this stage. He recovers quickly - and groping around the chair, he finds himself shading his eyes. The Ring is just across the room from him, lying on the floor - and he can see it, because it is glowing a little with a sickly yellow light that he's been rather used to. From this angle, it looks like it is only glinting, as though from some light source unseen; but there is no light in here, and so it has to be glowing.

Pleased to have a light source of sorts, and absolutely overjoyed to have his Ring back, the boy crawls to it, cradling it for a moment between his hands, before he moves his right hand back to his head injury. "You had me so worried", he murmurs; and the thing brightens, green flames sparking up and over its surface, though these thankfully do not burn.

_putmeonputmeonyou'reindangerputmeon-_

He freezes on the spot, any feelings of comfort that he might have had driven out of his head by the Ring's middle phrase. "What sort of da-"

(beep)

Ryou stops mid-sentence, eyes widening. "It's... it's to do with that beeping, isn't it?"

Silence is his only answer.

"Ryou? Is that you?"

At the sound of his name, the boy whirls around, to find thankfully _not _Yugo, but instead Anzu standing there. There's blood on her clothes; probably Ryou's own blood, since it's fairly likely that she was the one the teenage had been lying on top of. She yelps when he turns to face her, big blue eyes going wide in fear; and what with his face being lit up from below with an unearthly green glow, the blood trickling out from under where his right hand is trying to apply pressure to his injury, the boy guesses that he looks rather creepy himself. "R-Ryou!"

_Danger'sgettingcloseryoushouldgetout-_

"It's okay", Ryou hears himself saying, mostly in an attempt to keep her from figuring anything out. "I'm okay." He stands - yes, his legs are wobbling a little, but he still manages to stand. "Are you... okay too, Anzu?"

"What th- You're not okay at all! Your head..."

He smiles; reassuringly, or so he thinks - his smile is more of a grimace, and his eyes flicker colours in the changing light of the Ring. "I'm fine. Really."

_you'reindangerputmeonputmeonputmeON-_

_"Shut up"_, he snarls at his Item, then stops in shock; he's never sounded so _commanding _before, nor has Yami Bakura ever actually obeyed him. "What was...? I... just..." The boy sinks to one knee, half out of shock and half out of fear resulting from the void in his mind which the spirit normally filled with chatter. "My head... it really hurts, Anzu."

"You know, I don't think that's what I'd call fine." Anzu takes a hesitant step away from him, fear showing clearly on her features despite her best efforts to hide her emotions. He tries to smile again, tell her that it's all okay - but then his body moves of its own accord, and he's standing dominantly over her instead, smiling like a crocodile who's just spotted a perfect catch.

_"You're right, it isn't what I'd call fine, either. But if I were you, I'd take this Ring and start running..."_

The pale teen knows this feeling too well; he's become a puppet, just like he was at Battle City. Ryou can feel his controller tugging at his body, moving his arms and legs, making him say things he never would normally. It makes him give the Millennium Ring to Anzu of all people, forces him to intimidate her into fleeing the room with threats about some sort of coming danger that he'll be facing alone, thanks very much. The teenager immediately hurls a mix of insults and pleas at the puppetmaster-

-who, to his surprise, grumbles and apologizes in what sounds like Marik's voice, even as he maneuvers the teenager into what Ryou thinks is probably a cupboard, and manages to get the door almost closed. _It's for your own stupid good, you realize that?,_ he mumbles._ Now, all you have to do is hide. If you're on your own, you won't have to worry about trusting people..._

"But why would I be worried about that?", Ryou murmurs, shifting his body a little as he tries to get comfortable within the cramped space he's now in; but Marik merely hands back control in reply, leaving the boy lying alone in the dark, without even the faint greenish light of his own Item for company.

After a while, a floorboard creaks; then the bright beam of a flash light goes shooting across the floor in front of the boy. It's all Ryou can do to avoid shrieking a second time when through the crack of the open door, he sees someone enter the room - and not because he's prowling across the room with his head lowered and what looks suspiciously like a machete glinting in his right hand. It's because when the teenager stops, Ryou realizes that there, standing calmly in the center of the room, grey eyes glinting maliciously as he looks for his prey, is...

..._himself._

The other him isn't bleeding like Ryou is, and of course his eyes are grey instead of brown, but it's definitely Ryou in every other way, right down to his sneakers. Give him some contact lenses, and you wouldn't have been able to tell them apart.

_I have a twin as well?_

The other Ryou's voice rings out across the room, though it's twisted and carrying a sadistic sort of lilt to it. "Come out, little Ryou. You can't have gone far..."

* * *

**UAB**

- After this, the order resets; so Yugi is next, then Honda, then Jou, Anzu, and the last chapter will be from Ryou's perspective again...

-...assuming that they're all alive.

- Cliiiiiiiiffhanger. Yes, you can expect this in practically every chapter from now on.

- Guest review replies, as always, are on the chapter the actual review was left on, and for clarity's sake are deleted either when the guest replies or about six weeks after the reply has been put up, whichever comes first.


	7. Chapter Six: Showing

**Chapter Six: Showing**

* * *

**YUGI**

* * *

So _there_ it is, accompanied by a purely imaginary drum roll; it's the big reveal, the telling of the master plan that has Yugi shaking in his tacky sneakers. He stops struggling at that stage, sags against the wall in the uncomfortable position he is forced into by the shackles around his wrists and ankles; arms pulled vertically above his head, legs chained together. Those big purple eyes have long stopped pleading silently for Yugo to just let him go, because it clearly isn't going to happen, not if Yugo was the one to chain him here, which he has effectively just admitted to. Freedom certainly isn't about to come while the other teenager is busy babbling about the intricacies of his master plan – and now, Yugi hangs his head and stares at the floor, letting himself sink into a state of shock.

And that's easy enough to do, because Yugi really_ is_ shocked by what just happened; although he's never really trusted Yugo all that much, he sure as heck wasn't expecting any of this. His twin had taken the boy's hand in the dark, said that he was leading Yugi to safety, put them in a lift – but now the niceties are over, Yugi's shackled to the wall and Yugo's laughing at him, laughing and gently explaining how he planned everything out. The room is dimly lit, and Yugo appears to be attempting to blind him with his flashlight, so it's not like there's much for the other boy to look at, not much for him to distract himself with.

"So you see, only one of us can leave now", Yugo is saying – and suddenly, he pauses, looking expectantly at Yugi. "Well?"

"Well, _what?_", the other boy mumbles, but to his dismay the wealthy teenager's grin becomes so wide that it could put the Cheshire Cat to shame. Yugo giggles, and it's a horrible sound; it reminds Yugi way too much of fingernails on a blackboard in its harsh undertones, and the way it steadily increases in pitch until it's hurting the boy's ears is nothing short of horrendous.

Mind you, what he says when he eventually calms down is far, _far_ worse than the giggle; it's creepy, sure, but the level of fear it results in is nothing compared to just how badly Yugo's next words make his twin feel.

"So, you've already forgotten about your so–called source of power. How very cute."

A cold chill works its way down Yugi's spine, and he immediately starts racking his slow mind for the thing he has 'forgotten'. "My… my what?"

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. It's just something you lost – ahhh, not lost, because if you had really lost it, you'd remember it." Yugo moves out of his twin's line of sight; and there is a _click _a few seconds later, lights flickering on around Yugi. "Here, you might as well have a reward for forgetting. Positive reinforcement works quite well on people our age. But, what do you say?"

If he expects Yugi to _thank _him in any way, he is sadly mistaken. The boy merely glares around the white, pristine room as soon as his eyes have adjusted to the change in light, gaze drifting over the extra shackles sitting beside his Millennium Puzzle, placed on a plastic classroom desk a little behind and to the left of his torturer. He surveys the room as diligently as he can with his limited head movement; it looks to be some sort of converted office, all gleaming white walls and plain, plastic furniture. Clearly it's state of the art, though he only knows that because (a) everything _else _in the house has been state of the art, so why not, and (b) Yugo is babbling again, striding confidently and almost rudely into Yugi's line of sight.

"...And the chairs are Swiss, I believe. It took me _forever_ to hunt them down, but the way they curve against one's back is nothing short of remarkable..."

The boy makes himself take careful note of the remote in Yugo's hand and the gun collection on the wall, identifying basically anything that could possibly hurt him – but time and time again, Yugi finds that his eyes are drawn back to stare at the large and obnoxious collection of screens behind his twin. He's not quite sure why, but there's something almost _magical _about them, or at least something very important about them. Blurry images of green, white, and black dance across their surfaces, even as Yugo's head bobs in front of them; for at some point, the boy has turned and walked over to watch the screens himself. Yugi's twin is clearly enjoying the show; for he studies each screen in turn, humming softly to himself; before he quite abruptly faces Yugi with a twisted smile that to the boy appears borderline psychopathic.

"Ah, I see that you are enjoying my security footage, just as I predicted – though I guess you can't really see it. There's a _friend _on the screen, you know..."

And now what he's forgotten – it's just so _obvious_ now that Yugi thinks about it. The source of his power, he had once said, was the friendship he had with Honda and Anzu and Jounouchi and all the rest…

_Of course._

The earlier conversation makes sense now; Yugo had expected Yugi to be worried about his friends, and of course the latter had forgotten to. He guesses that his momentary lapse in worrying for his friends could have been blamed on his initial panic due to his finding out that he was shackled to the wall in an extremely uncomfortable position; that sounds valid enough. However, he still feel ashamed anyway – he's never actually forgotten before, and somewhere in the middle of the mixed bag of emotions that are threatening to overwhelm him, Yugi vows to never, _ever_, forget his friends ever again. To have friends is the wish that he made on the Millennium Puzzle, after all…

"Hmm... this is rather interesting. Your friend is... Well, I think you'd like to see your friend, yes?" Striding back to his twin, Yugo clicks a button on his remote, being sure to put as much effort into the pressing of the button as he can. He whirls dramatically to face the security panel, arms held wide for a moment as one of the middle screens slides slowly towards the two twins, a dreadful grinding, screeching sound echoing throughout the room as metal moves against metal. The doppelganger, of course, is banging on about night vision cameras and their specifics the entire time; how much the system cost, how much it cost to install. No piece of the system is mentioned without an accompanying price tag and a confident smirk that says '_You're not getting this'_ – the price of things seems to be incredibly important to Yugo, and he's evidently not worried about that showing.

His words fall on deaf ears, however; for Yugi is busy concentrating on the current situation, his mind racing. the boy's eyes are soon straining to see the image, trying to bring it into focus as quickly as he can – for all he knows, one of his friends could be dead or worse, and there's no way of knowing who exactly is dead, not until he can see the dratted image in better detail. He squints and stretches his neck as far out as it will go, as the screen crawls closer and closer to him at a frustratingly slow pace–

_Ah!_

The screen is showing a picture of Honda, a green–and–black Honda but still a Honda, wandering aimlessly down a corridor. He evidently can't see at all; he's keeping his left hand brushing the left wall as he jogs, to make sure that he's moving relatively straight. Interestingly enough, this method doesn't keep the brunette from walking clean into a wall.

"No, this is the wrong channel. I am sorry."

Yugo mashes his remote, and now the screen is showing a green–and–black picture of Anzu, holding the Millennium Ring for some odd reason as she talks to Honda... only Honda shouldn't even be anywhere near her, he should be lying sprawled in the corridor at that T–junction, groaning and grumbling about walls. It's enough to make Yugi's head spin; Yugo's saying that it's all live footage, but Honda can't be in two places at the same time, can he?

_Can he?_

Click, click, click, goes the remote – and now there's a picture of Anzu, who's not holding the Ring anymore,(_wait, what?_) talking to Jounouchi, who is shouldering a rifle (_how did he even get that?)_. The two of them look distinctly worried–

"No, not that..."

_Click, click, click..._

"Ah, here we are!"

–and at last he sees Ryou, standing very still in the middle of the room Yugi was dueling in not so long ago, as though he never left. The pale teen doesn't look to be hurt at all; which is a bit odd because Ryou was the one who was screaming in terror when they'd all been in the dark. He's holding a flashlight in his left hand and some sort of stick in his right; and after a moment he looks up, staring directly at the camera. Smiling gently, he salutes some invisible observer with – ahhh, that's not a stick he's got, but a machete. The steel blade glints dully under the infrared light; and to Yugi's surprise, Yugo merely nods at the image.

_But wait… Ryou, with a machete? Gentle, peaceful Ryou, the guy who would never hurt unless he had a good reason to? _That's even more ridiculous than imagining Jounouchi being able to shoulder a rifle as professionally as he had been shouldering the one in the last clear picture.

The pale teenager on the camera doesn't even need to start pointing at a nearby cupboard and swishing his weapon threateningly for Yugi's heart to plummet. Yugo isn't helping, of course; he's playing with Yugi's nerves, wondering out loud if perhaps something might be wrong. All the other twin can do is grit his teeth against the taunts; because even before Ryou has approached the cupboard, his observer knows that there's something terribly wrong with the pale boy.

He just doesn't know how much of an understatement 'terribly wrong' is, until with a flamboyant gesture, the teenager pulls from the cupboard a _second_ Ryou Bakura, the night vision cameras showing that this one is bleeding dark green blood all over his almost–white skin. The second Ryou staggers as the first one brings him to his feet, only to fall to one knee when he's abruptly shoved between the shoulderblades by the first Ryou. The machete describes a slow, graceful half–circle in the air, as the first Ryou taps it gently on his victim's neck, miming what he's going to do. The second swing is clearly the serious one; the pale teen grins like a maniac, bringing his weapon over his head and–

–and the screen goes black, Yugo grinning lopsidedly at him over his shoulder. "Too much TV is bad for you. Everyone knows that." The twin turns away from his brother, and something deep inside the boy goes _snap._

"L–let me go!", Yugi screams, thrashing against his bonds at the thought that Ryou must surely be dead by this point. The shackles rub against his wrists and ankles, causing him pain, but in this moment he doesn't care. Ryou is dead, Ryou is _dead_–

"–oh, all right. I'll let you watch another show, okay? But you have to listen to me while the pretty pictures are playing, or there'll be no dinner for you."

It's all Yugi can do to tolerate the condescending wag of the finger, let alone the whole 'baby' thing. Still, he manages to keep his mouth shut and nod hard, although tears are now flowing down his cheeks; because if he shuts up and nods, he may be allowed to see whether or not his friends are all right.

His heart flutters when Yugo presses another button on his remote; but then Yugi's tired eyes are assaulted by an array of bright colours; furry monsters dancing on the screen, their toothless grins almost seeming to mock the boy. His torturer turns around to glance almost apologetically at him, though he's smiling gently at the way his twin's face falls in disappointment. "There you go. Baby shows for my baby brother – the finest quality, of course. So, before you drift off into the wonderful world of _Sesame Street_, any thoughts on my master plan?"

With a Herculean effort, the boy tears his eyes away from the painful image of Big Bird raving about the letter B, glancing at his smirking twin and trying very hard not to cry. "What you're doing is... what you're going to do... it's..." And then his voice cracks, rendering him speechless; he shakes his head slowly, stares at the floor.

"Wrong, perhaps?", Yugo scoffs, turning away to stare back at his screens. "Well... I'd prefer 'genius', to be honest. I would have thought that what with you being my brother and all, you'd have appreciated the intrica–"

"_No!_ You're not my brother!"

"Maybe I wasn't before, but I am now. Face it, Yugi – I'm your lost long twin." A sick smile plays over the way–too–familiar features. "And I'm the _better_ twin, aren't I? I grew up in wealth. I have everything I want and more. And as for you... well, I wasn't expecting _much_, but I still hoped for more than this. I mean, you really are weak without that Millennium Puzzle..."

There is a long silence.

"Look – just admit it already, I'm the better twin." There's a dangerous glint in the boy's eyes, as he grabs Yugi's chin in one hand, forcing it upwards until the boy feels that his neck is about to snap. "Admit it! I'll prove it to you if you don't!"

One purple eye cracks open in reply, staring accusingly at the boy. "Y–you're..."

"Yes?"

"...mad. You're _mad._"

Yugo merely leans closer, hissing softly in Yugi's ear. "Who cares? I've got the money. I'm more powerful than you, more powerful than you could ever hope for. You were given a wish on that Puzzle, I know you were, you could have had anything you wanted – and you wasted it. On _friends._"

"No. It's friendship that's real power. Having friends, that's..."

"...what you forgot about for a while there. We are all selfish at heart." With a snicker; Yugo steps away from his twin, turning back towards the other security screens; one press of a his remote, and they are sliding forwards to catch up with the one currently displaying _Sesame Street_. "Let us see if any of your friends are co– huh?"

One by one, Yugo's screens are going black; something that Yugi might have pinned on his twin as being yet another cruel joke, if it wasn't for the surprised, faintly concerned look on the teenager's face. Then again, Yugo _is _a good enough actor to have fooled his twin before; it's hard for Yugi to believe him any more. The two of them stare absentmindedly at the screens; watching carefully as a green blur covers one of them for a moment, just before the whole thing goes black. A few minutes later, this pattern repeats with the next screen on the right, then the next, and the next; slowly but surely someone must be moving through the rooms, and somehow disabling the cameras.

_And if the rooms are connected, they must be moving towards Jounouchi and Anzu... Jou's got a rifle, but it must be awfully dark in there._

"How... _curious,_" Yugo mutters to himself, eyes narrowing as he watches. "This interference – ah, you will have to excuse me."

And so saying, turning on his heel, Yugo calmly leaves Yugi to watch the plights of his friends, and pray that those who are left will be all right.

_Don't think about Ryou._

_Don't think about Ryou. _

_Don't think about Ryou..._

and _auuugh _he feels so sick.

* * *

**UAB**

– Yes, the plot just got even more complicated.

– Yes, Yugo's starting to lose his little airs and graces, now that he's alone with Yugi.

– No, I really can't think of much more to say aside from that. Maybe I should just say "Reviewwww" for the word count's sake or something...

* * *

**Reply to Guest Review:**

**Yami E: **Oh yes - Yugo's got the Millennium Puzzle! At least he hasn't taken it apart or anything, but _still..._

Eheheh, you're right; there's definitely two Anzus, two Hondas, and two Ryous existing at exactly the time as each other; and... well, the second Ryou is stated to have grey eyes in chapter five. I reckon you might be onto something here! ;)

Heh - Kaiba and Malik's fight was definitely live on TV~ I remember editing that chapter so that the presenter wouldn't shut up about it, xDDD. And yet, Malik's clearly on the island...

Feel free to try and figure it all out before the big reveal - it's great to see someone interested in what's going on here! :D It's not annoying me in the least! ^_^

Ahhh, thankyou so muchos~ I love it when people are enjoying my scratchings!


	8. Chapter Seven: Running

**Chapter Seven: Running**

* * *

**HONDA**

* * *

**SMACK!**

"Owww, my _head!_"**  
**

The teenager gets to his feet, muttering curses under his breath - that marks the third time Honda's run into a wall in as many minutes, and he doesn't like it. His face certainly doesn't like it, but that's somewhat besides the point; instincts are telling him that he needs to keep moving, and it's unlikely that he'll manage that if he keeps on walking into things. He needs to adjust, and adjust _fast-_

-and all thought goes out of his head with the sound of the scream, echoing down the corridor from some point not too far away from him - ahead and to his left. He charges forwards at the sound, hardly caring for his own safety, screaming several unprintable words as he smashes into the wall (which has always been there, he just keeps forgetting), then skids to the left and tramples his way down the corridor. "Hold on, I'm coming!"

A strangled _squawk _is his only answer; things go oddly quiet, aside from a strange shuffling, dragging sort of noise that trails off as he gets closer to the door he swears the original scream came from - and he knows that it's a door, because there's a dim glimmer of light edging out from under it. For a second, Honda hesitates to open it; the scream didn't sound pretty, but if one of his friends had just been _attacked _by someone, then the attacker might still be-

The door pops open before he can make his decision, and Honda blinks for a moment, stunned by the flashlight being shone into his eyes; in that instant, something clatters to the floor, but he can't tell what it is. The pale boy smiles gently at him as the light is lowered; it's a smile that throws Honda back to the very first day he met Ryou Bakura, calm and polite. The boy bows to him, as though it is their first time meeting; a gesture which immediately puts Honda on edge, even if one ignores the fact that the movement revealed to Honda the blood on the left side of the other boy's head.

_Well, that accounts for the mess on the floor._

"Hello. I'm Ryou."

"Well, I suppose you are." He shrugs that comment off as best he can, but it's still a tad unsettling anyway. To be honest, Honda's pretty sure that Ryou doesn't mean to be creepy, seeing as Ryou never _means _to be creepy - but he just kind of is anyway, and it's the brunette's job to filter out his stranger aspects. There's something different about this time, though - something that's even stranger than usual, something about his blank gaze, something about the way he's standing...

"Oh! Do I know you?" He puts a hand to his temples, grinning foolishly. "I'm sorry, but I... don't really remember much. Something hit me, and..." He trails off, staring at his hand; some of the blood in his hair has gotten onto it, and it's obvious that the kid is attempting not to freak out the sight. "S-shouldn't that hurt? Do you know what's wrong with me?"

He takes a step forwards, and that's when Honda notices his eyes, wide as they now are with worry; they're grey, though a darker grey than Yugo's - more the colour of a storm cloud swollen with rain than the lighter grey of the eyes of Yugi's twin. Startled, the taller boy takes a step backwards, eyeing up Ryou with something bordering on suspicion. "Your eyes..."

The pale boy seems to jump a foot in the air, skittering further into the room and studying his reflection in a glass cabinet. "Hey - uh, insertnamehere-"

"Honda", he grunts in reply.

"-okay, so Honda - Honda, what's wrong with my eyes? I don't see anything..."

"They used to be brown", the brunette murmurs, kneeling to examine something glimmering on the floor. "But to be honest with you, I think we might just have bigger problems than your eyesight." He straightens, cradling the machete. "Ryou, do you remember anything about thi-"

-and then he's interrupted by his own voice, one emerging from someone else's throat, but still a sound identical to his. _"I'm sure he was back here!"_

"Eh?"

A few footsteps echo in the corridor outside, and shortly afterwards a beam of a second flashlight finds its way into the room, Anzu squealing out in fright when the light hits the brunette. Honda can see her, standing in the doorway - she looks to be all right, even if she is clutching the Millennium Ring for some odd, unknown reason. Deciding that the second Honda's voice was just some bizarre trick of the room, he begins to walk towards her, only to stop when she recoils in fear.

He blinks, frowns. "Anzu...? Are you okay?"

"Honda?!" Her voice has a high note of panic in it; she's clearly stressed. "But... but I thought you were _behind _me..."

The brunette shakes his head slowly. "When exactly was I...?"

And then, right on cue, a big, way too familiar figure comes to stand next to the girl, peering into the room. "What are you talking about? I'm right he- hey, _whoa!_" He smiles, stretching his arms above his head as he swaggers forwards in a way so very Honda-like, it makes the brunette's blood almost boil. "So, there's an evil me as well..."

"_I'm _the real Honda", Honda growls, automatically tightening his grip on the machete, only to immediately regret it when the other teen's grin widens slightly.

"Says the guy holding the bloody weapon." With these words, the fake begins to circle Honda, forcing him to turn to face the too-familiar features, making him feel even more uncomfortable. It's a tactic that Honda himself has used before, whenever he needed to question some pesky gang member or other; seeing it being used by the doppelganger only makes him sick to the stomach.

"Hey, stop that!"

"Stop what?", the other Honda blinks innocently, continuing to circle his target. "And _why _am I listening to a fake like you again...?"

"I'm not a fake! I really am the-"

"Then answer me this: How you can say that you're not a freaky killer dude whilst you're holding a weapon?"

The fake Honda pauses a moment, eyebrows raised; and Honda goes to say that the weapon isn't his, that he found it on the floor; but suddenly Ryou pipes up, moving to stand next to Anzu in the doorway. "You're right", he murmurs, quietly, but still loud enough that the brunette can easily hear the accusation in his words. "I came when I heard the scream, and found him here. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that you mention it..."

_What the- _

Why Ryou just lied is pretty much beyond Honda at this point; all he knows is that two of his best friends have just turned on him, for seemingly no apparent reason. Why they've taken the words of this fake Honda now sneering in his face is equally as unfathomable - the real deal longs to bare his teeth in reply, but he knows that one wrong move could be his end...

...or maybe that's what the _genuine _Honda would do. Is someone testing him, perhaps? Is this some sort of a game, to see how strong his character is? If so, what is the most Honda-like action for him to be taking, what should he do to try and convince them-

_Why am I thinking this? _

Surely, he's the real Honda; all he has to do is act natural, and everything will be fine. But the harder he tries to act naturally, the more difficult it gets; and so all too soon, Honda's losing his cool, unable to look the other Honda in the eye, those grey eyes cold and calculating and _not his,_ even if the rest of the face looks exactly like Honda's.

_Maybe this guy... is more real than I am..._

"Hey, fake. Who do you think's more real?"

"You." The word comes straight out of his mouth; and he _knows _it's the wrong choice - because all too suddenly, the fake Honda has lunged, and Honda's being picked up by the collar. He doesn't struggle in the least; the machete falls from his loose grip and clatters onto the floor as he is hoisted high into the air. He hardly cares, though; he's focused on what he can see of Anzu and Ryou over the fake Honda's shoulder. The pale teenager has one arm around the girl's shoulder, comforting her as best he can; the Millennium Ring is now in his hand, and Anzu...

Anzu's _crying._

Honda's stomach churns at the sight, his heart aching and his head full of questions as he's lifted a little higher.

_What did I do wrong?_ _Am I not good enough for you? _

And more to the point - how could they possibly have confused him with this guy who looks like him but doesn't act anything like him? Okay, so maybe he _does_, to an extent; but Honda can see that the nuances aren't quite there yet, and if he can see that, then surely his friends... and his _best _friends, surely...

_Did they even notice me? Did they ever like me? Try to get to know me?_

Brown eyes bore into grey as the fake Honda readies his fist, and its intended target finds no mercy in his gaze. "Aren't you gonna fight?", he leers, and suddenly words just coming tumbling out of his mouth unbidden; words he never thought of saying, words...

_"No. That's not what the real Honda would do, you see."_

Someone's controlling him, and for once he couldn't care less; he lets whoever it is aim his eyes and move his mouth, because the words are making the fake Honda uncomfortable. The brunette smiles inwardly as his enemy shifts from foot to foot for a few seconds, his eyes flickering to Honda for a moment, then over to Ryou for some odd reason - but then, at a faint nod from the pale teen, he goes back on the attack, his face returned to its supremely confident state.

"So, what would the real Honda have done, eh?"

_"He wouldn't have attacked his fake like that"_, Honda's puppetmaster replies smoothly. The brunette cheers inwardly, and as a reward for his silent support, finds that his vision is being aimed over the fake's shoulder. He sees, to his delight, Anzu nodding agreement - though that's just before the fake Honda's fist meets his jaw, sending red sparks through his vision, and he's abruptly slammed into the floor a few seconds later. A booming laugh echoes all around him as he lies prone, battered and bruised on the floor. "Yeah, _right_", the fake growls, but Honda notices that he's not attacking anymore.

The brunette gets to his feet, completely ignoring the pain racking Honda's body. _"Anzu, who did you know first? The Yugi with the grey eyes, or the Yugi with the purple eyes?"_

"The Yugi... with the purple eyes..."

And then her whole body stiffens in realization of what that means, and Ryou's grip suddenly tightens on her shoulder. "Don't try anything."

"Who are you?", the fake Honda snarls, lunging at the brunette; but the puppetmaster has quick reflexes. Before Honda can register that his enemy is on the move, he's already moving - he rushes straight forwards with his head lowered, catching his double in a painful headbutt and rushing to Anzu's side, almost casually delivering a roundhouse kick to the pale teen holding her and snatching the Millennium Ring from his grip.

_"Come on!"_, Honda roars (or rather, his puppetmaster makes him yell), grabbing the girl by the arm and dragging her out into the corridor. _"We have to get out of here!"_

And so they run and run, with the angry howls of Not-Ryou and Not-Honda echoing behind them.

* * *

It takes them a full four minutes of panicked fleeing for them to lose their pursuers; eventually, Honda's controller guides him and Anzu into what feels like a broom cupboard, just after they've rounded a bend. Thankfully, the fakes arrive just a touch too late to see the door closing; Honda grabs the still-glowing Millennium Ring and wraps it in his jacket, and they are safe. Eventually, the two hunters move off down the corridor, discussing how best to kill their prey when they find them; and the brunette finds that he's slipped back into control of his body again, though there's still an odd little voice echoing nonsense words in the back of his head.

Taking a huge, gasping breath into his aching lungs, Honda turns to look at Anzu, and finds that her big blue eyes are full of concern. "Honda... You weren't yourself back there, were you? I... I mean... I'm glad you saved me, but..."

"You... You don't have to trust me if you don't want to. I guess... well, maybe it's for the best" - he goes to say more, but the voice in his head suddenly becomes louder, coming up to something resembling normal speaking volume as its nonsense words suddenly become intelligible words:

_Hello there. Remember me?_

"Marik!", Anzu hisses; and Honda realizes that she must have heard it as well.

_Yes, that would be my name. _

The brunette sighs at his arrogance, deciding to ask Marik a question before he can get too cocky. "How did you know about it?"

_About what?_

This time, it's Anzu's turn to interrupt Honda. "Yugo. The holiday. Us being in danger. Everything, really."

_Everything...? Well, let's just say that I've been to Yugo's place before. I was the one that got away - hey, maybe you should ask him about that. It was back when all you had to get out was... well, get out. So I struck a deal with my look-alike, and we got out together." _A mental giggle echoes in Honda's head. _"For six months, I stay on the island to warn people of Yugo, whilst he takes over my life. Then we swap places - I'm not sure how good a job he's doing, though. He... uh, doesn't seem to like Kaiba very much."_

The brunette frowns. "But... what about that rule?"

_What about it?_

"You said that 'all you had to do was get out' was what the rule was _before_, so what exactly do we have to do to get out?"

_Oh, that's easy. You just have to kill your clone, and then get out. Or have someone else kill your clone, either way. _

"So that's why they're all trying to kill us..." Anzu murmurs, and jumps awkwardly when suddenly Jounouchi's voice answers her back, and the closet's door thrown open.

"Yup, that would be why", he grins goofily, his face visible in the glow of the exposed Millennium Ring as Honda grabs his jacket, gets to his feet, goes to say hello-

-and _then_ realizes that he's staring directly down the barrel of a gun.

"Hey, chill. It's nice that you're terrified and all, but I'm not interested in you, to be honest", he laughs, grey eyes full of joy as they take in the sight of Honda and Anzu automatically cowering on the floor. "Just tell me where Jounouchi is, and I'll let _you _go." The barrel gestures to Honda, then points towards Anzu. "I'm awfully sorry, but I happen to have a grey-eyed Miss Mazaki right here next to me, who'd like a word with you - and by 'word', I mean _knife_. You'll have to sta-"

And _that's_ about when the ceiling breaks, and an enormous _wolf-thing _about twice Honda's size drops on top of the unfortunate doppelganger, its ridiculously long claws tearing into him before he's even got a chance to react, bones snapping with a sick crunching as its weight crushes Not-Jounouchi's slight frame. Without thinking, Honda shoves Anzu out into the corridor, screaming at her to run, just _run_, and it doesn't matter that her very own twin is standing besides the wolf, staring at it in total shock, just runrunrunrunrunrUN-

So Anzu runs, with Honda and the fake Anzu hot on her heels; but it's obvious that even with the adrenaline fueling her actions and the Millennium Ring's soft glow lighting her way, she's still tiring fast, slowing down. Pretty soon, she'll be within attacking range - and much to Honda's despair, close behind her is her doppelganger, knife just waiting to pierce her tender skin. Of course, behind this evil Anzu is that _thing_ - but since Honda somehow doubts that_ anyone_ will be able to outrun the creature once it starts moving, the girl is kind of top priority at the moment-

_Moment._

Not-Anzu goes to fling her knife, her hand moving in a smooth arc - and Honda, without thought for his own life or safety, finds himself tackling a psychopathic girl clutching a knife. They end up on the floor, left completely in the dark as Anzu rounds the next corner; Honda's bigger, but she's faster. Thankfully, he manages to grab her wrist by dumb luck - she shrieks when he twists it, the metal blade skittering away from her - but as they continue to grapple, Honda's well aware that they're running out of time. In fact, every now and then, he's suddenly aware of the dull panting of the creature coming closer, closer, closer... but it couldn't be, can't be, surely won't be, he blocks out the noise - he's no idea how long the two of them have been fighting, but it couldn't possibly have been that long, so _please, please, just a few more minutes-_

_-maybe it doesn't exist (God please let it not exist)-_

It's howling; he doesn't know what took it so long, but it's howling. He can hear it, a long, mournful wail so loud in amplitude that the floor vibrates under him, and his head feels as though it's about to split in two- but then it's over. In the blink of an eye, he and Not-Anzu have flung away their differences as they leap to their feet together, running and running and _running_, with something utterly inhuman on their heels.

Of all the stupid, dumb, crazy, and downright dangerous things that Hiroto Honda has ever done in his life, this one has to be the scariest.

* * *

**UAB**

- Here's an extra advantage of these perspective swaps: The ability to have a cliffhanger practically every chapter, then never let them resolve in the next chapter. ;)

- This is actually the day I was supposed to have this story done by - but of course, there's at least another three chapters to go through, maybe even more. Thankfully, the person I'm running the trade with is (a) very patient, and (b) will be late with their end anyway.

- Fun fact: When I referred to the 'second twin' characters in my plot planning, I initially used the term 'Clone!CharacterName' (for instance, 'Clone!Jounouchi). Over time, this became more like 'C!CharacterName', and then one day I realized that I'd accidentally made _names _for the 'clone' characters. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Cryou, Conda, Canzu, and Cou!

**November 3rd, 2013**: The final chapter (ie chapter eight) has been removed while I edit it in a pretty major way (the plot needed to be changed).


	9. Chapter Eight: Fighting

**Author's Note: **Please note that this chapter, which _used _to be called 'Changing', had to be overhauled in a fairly major way, which is why it's being posted as a new chapter. Pretty much the whole plot of this chapter has been changed, xDD

**Chapter Eight: Fighting**

* * *

**JOUNOUCHI**

* * *

Jounouchi's a total mess – not that he really cares about that, but his current state would surely have mortified anyone with so much as a morsel of fashion sense. The dried blood under his fingernails, his floral shirt ripped clean down the front, his jeans shredded at the knees, it's all stuff he's seen before; stuff that's always been present in the aftermath of – well, _that._ To be honest, he doesn't really like thinking about _that_ – which is fine, because _that _hasn't actually happened since Yugo's taunts from all that time ago (ah, how clearly he can remember it - the kid was dressed in a pure white coat, those cold grey eyes regarding him thoughtfully as the blonde hunched over his chew toy in frustration), not since Marik managed to break the blonde out of the mansion as well.

Never fear, however – as canon–breaking as the notion of Jounouchi knowing Yugo might seem, it all makes sense when you realize something: The Jounouchi that had actually accompanied Yugi on the plane trip has been quietly stuffed in a closet by the Jounouchi whose perspective this is all from, and he's probably still in there (unless the idiot has wandered out, and been killed by his grey-eyed twin). The Jounouchi currently stalking down the hallway is, then, _not the original Jounouchi at all_, and has no intention of taking the original Jounouchi's place; in fact, he's had his name changed to Katsuya (albeit illegally, due to there being nothing legal you can do when your very existence is illegal).

Here, then, is the bottom line: There are currently three people who happen to look like Jounouchi in the mansion. One is a very much alive character, who calls himself Katsuya, broke a window to get into the mansion, and is on whatever side Marik happens to be on. The second, who is probably alive–but–could–be–dead, is the original Jounouchi, and the third, who is definitely as dead as can be, is the grey–eyed Jounouchi lookalike. Oh, I can hear the audience whining already...

…and _speaking_ of noises, Katsuya can now hear a distant whimpering from somewhere a fair way away, which is totally not an obvious way of luring the dissenters back into the plot. The blonde grimaces at the noise, striding forwards with a low growl rumbling in his throat and his eyes flashing murder; maybe he's never met any of Yugi's friends face to face, but he definitely dislikes Yugo enough to want to protect them. He can see a little in the darkness – and so he covers ground quite swiftly, his speedy walk turning into a jog as the cries get more and more desperate, eventually segueing into a flat–out sprint when eventually Whoever It Is screams. The noise chokes off just as he reaches a door that Katsuya knows is all between him and its source, and after backing up a few steps, he lunges for it, slamming into the wood with all his might. He expects it to be locked; but to his surprise, it is already hanging ajar – and so its sudden opening combined with his momentum sends the boy flying into the room, eventually coming to a crouching halt on the blood–spattered floor.

He doesn't have to look very hard to find his double's friend; through enhanced eyesight, he can see the trail of liquid where someone injured has been dragged across the floor. It leads to a cupboard, which when opened yields a body, falling to the floor with a dull _thump _and a groan. For a moment, the teenager fears that this person is dead; but then it speaks.

"Have you come back to kill me?"

Katsuya's heart aches at the sound of Ryou's voice, so weak and broken. Perhaps he never truly knew the kid, but he's been briefed more than enough times, heard enough tapes, and knows full well just how much Yugo envies this one.

"Well?"

Katsuya swallows, his mouth suddenly dry. If Ryou realizes that his helper _isn't _the friend he's known for years, the kid could try to run and wind up getting hurt – or worse.

_Come on, you can do this. Just pretend that you're Jounouchi._

"It's me, Ryou. Ka– uh, Jounouchi. I… I'm gonna get you out of here, okay? You'll be all right."

"H–he was going to kill me, the other me. He was going to cut off my _head_…"

_Uh–huh, that sounds just like him. _The grey–eyed Ryou had been one of Katsuya's first 'playmates', and as such viewed himself as being far superior to everyone else – _especially _the one he considered to be the 'failed experiment'. When the real Ryou breaks down into sobs, the blonde can't really blame him – the double is definitely a nasty piece of work, and whilst the pale teen's by no means delicate or fragile, he's not exactly as hard and cold as stone, either – and of course, nearly getting your head cut off isn't something that exactly happens every day for most. To make matters worse (as if they needed to be!), Katsuya can hear high notes of fear in the crying, hear a certain question in the hiccups.

'_Will he come back?'_

Although the blonde definitely doesn't know the answer (although he has an inkling, the psychopath was always rather unpredictable), he also doesn't want Ryou or himself to think about it. He doesn't quite believe in jinxes, but then again – he's living in a world where people can literally kill you with a card game, and not just by brutally beating you over the head with a suitcase of rare cards. It's probably best to avoid jinxes, just in case they turn out to be real as well.

"It's all right, it's all right…" Katsuya repeats into the darkness, fumbling around until he finds the kid, picking him up with infinite care and laying him on the floor. Tearing up the remainder of his own tattered shirt, the blonde wraps long strips around where he guesses the dark liquid on Ryou's head has come from, wincing when the smaller teen bites his lip to prevent himself from screaming, white teeth glimmering for a moment in the dim light. Katsuya tries to keep his hands as steady as he can, but winces whenever he makes a mistake, causing Ryou all kinds of unnecessary pain in the process. "It's all right", he says each time the pale teen gives out a whimper, coaxing him to lie still with empty promises that it'll all be over soon.

"He was _this _close to killing me!", Ryou exclaims several minutes later, after a solemn moment of feeling the makeshift bandages wound carefully around his temples like some sort of bizarre headband. "But then Honda came in – so the fake me couldn't kill me, because he had to act like the real me."A snort. "And it's not even like he was very _good_ at pretending to be me!" He shivers, drawing his knees up to his chest and hugging himself tightly. "If Honda hadn't come when he did…"

"Y–you're alive now, so it's going to be..." Katsuya trails off, looking towards the doorway in worry. A dull glow has appeared – some sort of light source must be moving down the corridor towards them, which can only mean that someone must be holding that light. Given that Yugi and the others don't have lights, the chances are very slim that the unexpected visitor is at all friendly. Really, if it was his decision, he'd have darted away into a corner; but he has to defend the white–haired teenager.

The holder of the light steps into view, with one hand behind his back, and his other confidently holding the Millennium Ring before him - and to be honest, Katsuya doesn't even need to see his eyes to know that he's a doppelganger, because this guy looks pretty much identical to Ryou, albeit an uninjured Ryou...

...with an _utterly psychotic _grin, come to think of it. It's the stuff of nightmares, plain and simple; a terrible thing that tears his gentle features clean asunder.

"Hello there, Nine–Six–One. Didn't expect to see _you._" He blinks, big grey eyes looking almost innocent for a second; they clash badly with that shark-like smile. "I thought Yugo got rid of you. You always were useless."

"Th–that's _him!_", Ryou shrieks as the boy comes closer, and the fake Ryou chooses to laugh at his fear, grey eyes glinting as he brandishes the glowing pendant, the movement sending shimmers of sickly gold light dancing across the room.

"Look me in the eye, wimp. I'm stronger than you, stronger than you'll ever be. I could control the Ring Spirit with my pinky finger."

"It's not that easy!", Ryou whispers, which only gets him a bout of cruel laughter in reply.

"I must say, I rather fancy my chances... After all, I've been _trained _to use this. I've got the looks, and I've got the guts." The doppelganger's tongue flickers out of his mouth for a moment, as the teenager licks his chops. "And when I'm finished with you, you won't have your looks. Or, come to think of it, your _guts..._" He takes another step, and Ryou nearly falls over himself trying to get away and deal with his injury at the same time.

"Y-you can't do that!"

"Oh, but I _can..._" Slowly, slowly, Not-Ryou moves his left hand from behind his back, admiring the machete it holds in the yellow light of the Ring. Katsuya feels sick to the stomach at the display, but for reasons other than the general feeling of disgust at the boy's sheer arrogance. After all, the last person he saw with that thing was Anzu, right before she'd run away and all _that _had happened.

_He couldn't have, right...?_

_But if he got the chance, and he..._

Katsuya shoves that little thought out of his head; there's no _way _that he could have arrived too late, and even if he did, he has someone else to protect right now. Stepping to the side, he moves in front of Ryou, spreading his arms wide. "You're not touching him."

One eyebrow raises. "Nine-Six-One, you clearly don't know what you're walking into. I mean, after all - I _am_ the person holding the machete. Not to mention _this_." He holds up the Ring, directing its light into Katsuya's eyes in an effort to make the blonde blink. "I could do a thousand things to you, and none of them _nice_."

"Th–that's _mine_…" Ryou whispers, and instantly his doppelganger's head snaps downwards, looking over Katsuya's shoulder.

"Yours?", he questions, and the terrified boy can only nod, yelping softly when in a sudden, violent movement, the psycho with the grey eyes throws his head back, shoulders shaking as he laughs maniacally, as though Ryou just said something absolutely _hilarious_. Eventually, Not-Ryou trails off, eyeing up his target as though the pale boy is some delicious sort of confectionery; the look he gives the teenager over Katsuya's shoulder is nothing short of predatory, pink tongue flickering out over his lips for a moment in the glow of the Ring. "You really meant to say that this incredible weapon is... _yours?_"

Once again, Ryou can only nod in reply (or maybe he's just shaking very badly; the blonde isn't sure), and the doppelganger chuckles softly at the reaction, crooning gently as he draws nearer, Katsuya suddenly frozen on the spot with something bordering on fear. "But I _am _you, Ryou. Don't you see? I'm just like you, but better." Ryou's double takes an abrupt step backwards, grinning from ear to ear. "_I'm_ Ryou Bakura!"

The target of his address shrinks away at the sudden movement, eyes wide with fear. "You're not like me at all! Y–you're not me!"

"Maybe not, but I will be...", the fake muses; then it smiles wide, that psychopathic grin returning to presumably scar the two teenagers for the rest of their lives, _if_ their lives happen to last longer than the next fifteen or so seconds. "Just as soon as I've killed you, right?"

Katsuya tries to react to the sudden lunge of his enemy, he really tries, but there's not much he can do - the handle of the machete is in his stomach in a split second, Ryou hauled roughly to his feet a moment later. By the time the blonde has recovered, the clone's got Ryou by the throat and is slowly pulling the kid away from Katsuya, pressing his blade to the boy's pale neck. "I wouldn't try anything, Nine–Six–One. I mean, either you'll kill me, or I'll kill him. Pretty simple, hmm?" His lips twist into a smirk as he takes in the terror evident in Ryou's big brown eyes, only fading with Katsuya's low growl of anger.

"And what's supposed to stop me from just killing you?"

He cracks his knuckles in the sudden silence, and the fake Ryou almost winces - _almost _ - but somehow turns the movement into a confident raise of one eyebrow. "You _could _change, but if you do, you'll end up killing both me and Not-Ryou here."

"Change?", Ryou asks, and Katsuya automatically shakes his head – but the grey-eyed boy steals the blonde's opportunity to give an answer, honeyed words tumbling from his lips.

"Now, now – we can't be shy! My lack of shyness is one of the major improvements to Ryou Bakura's character, actually." The pale teen giggles childishly, as though he were merely discussing why one toy was superior to the other; the machete digging into Ryou's neck as he shakes with laughter. "Please do go on, Nine–Six–One. Tell him what I meant by 'change'. Tell him all about how _you _were the one to throw him into that wall. How you're actually the _real _bad guy, not perfect like me, but hateful all the same..."

A long, murderous silence follows this statement; Ryou's eyes wide with worry now at the thought that 'Jounouchi' might not be 'Jounouchi' after all, even as Katsuya's anger builds up into a hateful little ball that lodges in his throat. Step by step, the clone continues to drag Ryou backwards, never taking his eyes off the one person who might be able to stop him at this point. Katsuya walks after the other two teenagers, glaring as dangerously as he dares in the doppelganger's general direction.

"So, are you going to try and stop me?", the fake smirks, as the three of them reach the door. "Because I'd quite like to kill this _thing_ calling itself Ryou right this minute. It's your choice - would you rather watch it be beheaded, or do the honors yourself after murdering the executioner?"

"Um, Jounouchi?", Ryou murmurs softly. "I... I don't know what this guy is talking about, but... _Now_ would be a good time."

_...Wait a minute. What would Jounouchi do?_

"I dunno what he means by 'change' either", Katsuya muses. "But... but there is a third option, isn't there?"

The clone rolls his eyes and snorts. "And what would _that _be?"

"Kicking your butt to kingdom come", the blonde grins goofily, and calmly punches the clone in the face, resulting in a sick _crunch _as his fist meets the bastard's nose. Using his weight advantage to pin the other male to the nearest wall and knock both Ryou and the weapons of Ryou's clone out of the way, Katsuya immediately goes to swing again; but the pale teen is fast. He slams his elbow into the side of Katsuya's head, and a moment later his pale fingers are clamped around his opponent's neck, pushing his head roughly upwards. The blonde growls and kicks him in the shins, and the smaller boy grits his teeth against the pain - but still presses home his advantage, slamming the crown of his head directly into Katsuya's face, snickering softly as he pulls away. To be honest, the blonde just manages to wipe a little blood from his nose before he remembers that the doppelganger has a hand still around his neck-

- and so of _course_, he can't get away when Not-Ryou decides to deliver a swift elbow strike to the windpipe. He goes down on his knees in a moment, the lighter teenager springing on top of him with ease; and a moment later, he's got the guy by the throat, Desperately, Katsuya tries to break free – the fact that he's now in an effective death grip of sorts is causing instincts to surge inside him and scrabble for control, threatening to possess him all over again as the clone slowly chokes him to death. However, despite his best efforts to stay sane and throw the brat off, the doppelganger holds on with deceptive ease, his grip going ever tighter, until eventually an inhumanely powerful uppercut sends him flying halfway across the room.

Katsuya crouches where he struck from, hunched over and desperately trying to both recover from a near-death experience and resist _that -_ the roaring in his head, the pounding in his ears, the slender teen, unfortunately, seems to be in very good shape still; he laughs gaily, clambering to his feet and tilting his head to one side, casually rubbing at his left shoulder, which has gone limp, the bone sitting at a strange angle when compared to his right. Suddenly, with a grimace and a loud _click_, he clicks the dislocated joint back into place, hardly whimpering. "It's been a pleasure playing with you, Nine -Six-One. But... I think we should end this. See, Yugo told us all a little something, as soon as he became aware of your little _intrusion_ this morning. It's your code phrase."

"H-his _what? _And how do you know he has one, anyway?", a shaky voice says, and Katsuya looks over regretfully at the pale teenager - the _real _Ryou, backed up against the wall and shivering, though he's somehow mustered enough strength to at least try and hold his doppelganger's machete in both hands. "I've never seen you before in my life! And neither has Jounouchi!"

The fake shrugs; not that Katsuya's really aware of it, due to the ridiculous internal battle he's fighting inside. His vision's blurring at the edges, his neck feeling as though it's going to collapse in on itself any minute now - he can't speak, he's too weak to try that now. All he can do is listen to the two twins arguing.

"I've been trying to tell you all along, Not-Ryou - _that's not Jounouchi. _He's like me, and yet... much, much worse." Grey eyes glimmer viciously. "Hey, wanna see? My code phrase just makes me obey my master, but his..." A sick grin flickers over the clone's face, even as he steps closer to his 'original', so to speak. "He'll go _berserk. _It'll be great!"

"Don't do it", Ryou pleads. "If you _dare_ do it, I'll-"

"-you'll just die. We both will", the doppelganger growls. "The fact is, I just lost to _you _- I mean, look who's got that machete. Call me a sore loser if you must, but... Well, I've got no purpose now." The boy runs pale fingers through his hair - then he smiles down at Katsuya, and it's almost genuine. "I'll see you two in hell..._ Fangs for the memories._"

"I'm sorry", Jounouchi mumbles, though he can't be sure that Ryou even heard it – and then the blonde's _gone_, leaping forwards on legs that are much stronger now, as he comes straight at the laughing clone, unable to control himself or even _think_ properly-

-and then, way, _way, _too late, he sees the machete coming for his head.

* * *

**UAB**

– Fun fact: All the grey–eyed clones/doppelgangers/whatever were deliberately built to be parodies of certain Sue types and features. Here's the basic rundown on the ones you've met so far:

+ Yugo - has been elaborated on at length in the story, but anyway. He's basically Yugi with extreme levels of money, confidence, and general social skills; but unlike Yugi, he's quite distrustful and manipulative. Yugi is actually okay with Yugo's bragging, to an extent; but Yugo simply can't _stand_ the thought that Yugi could be better than him; he's actually quite insecure in this regard.

_Parody of every single Sue twin that has ever claimed to be 'like character xyz, but better'. Yugo is indeed in a better position than Yugi at the moment, but it looks like the power has gone to his head._

+ Cou – probably one of the nicer ones, personality–wise. Lazy to the point where he really can't be bothered to pull a trigger on a gun unless he has some sort of an order to do it, he's basically Jounouchi without any sort of dedication and more emphasis on the violent streak Jounouchi had in the early manga. Of all the weapons he could have picked for this 'hunt' of sorts, he picked a gun specifically because it required the least physical effort of anything he could have picked.

_Parody of morally - correct Sues; Cou's death pretty much results from his making a morally correct decision._

+ Conda – unlike his look-alike, who's quite honest, Conda lies very easily, imitating Honda very well. He especially likes to torture with mind-games and angsty tales of woe; and he's confident enough in his skills that he's the only one of the group not carrying a weapon about.

_Parody of two Sues in particular - one, the angst-ridden Sues that threaten to break your brain with unbelievable tales of woe - and two, Sues that are gifted with the ability to walk into a room, and have everyone instantly turn on whatever character/s the Author hates._

+ Cryou – one of the nastiest in the group, Cryou has clearly been trained up to handle the burden of the Ring. This means that he's probably the most identity confused of the bunch, utterly obsessed with getting a name for himself, and also the only person who doesn't know much about his lookalike's history. Much like Yugo, he's extremely confident, but unlike Yugo lacks the ability to act at all; his cruelty is pretty obvious from the moment he shows up, and he can't seem to stop himself from giving everyone psycho grins regardless of what's actually going on.

_Parody of pretty much every overpowered Sue ever; Cryou is basically Ryou with none of Ryou's flaws (ie 'like Ryou but better), and is assumed to be able to do whatever he likes with the Ring without any fear of Yami Bakura. However, he's definitely not on the good side, and Yami Bakura... you'll see._

* * *

**Reply to Guest Review: **

**Yami E:** Well - Katsuya/Nine-Six-One/'Wolof' Jou, as I've become fond of calling him, was never going to be the original Jou in the first place. However, with the way the old chapter played out, you were going to _think _that he was the original Jou; which was pretty cool, but then I realized that itdidn't make much sense, given that Wolof Jou doesn't actually want Jounouchi's life and will try to differentiate himself from him.

Well, there's not too many _other _wolofs (yes, this is slang for 'wolf thing' at our D&D table) around, and his clothing's wrecked. That kind of indicates that he's the one who killed Cou, but... Eh, you never know.

Mm-hmm - there's definitely a big plan being set in motion here, which has been in the planning stages for six months at least (the time given to the point when Marik was dragged in as a test of sorts, and escaped with both Carik and Wolof Jou). Yugo has a major, _major _grudge, I think you'll find~  
So thats mean that (Yack) or whomever made the clones has traget the Gang on purpise

Cryou vs Yami Bakura, I don't even know which one's worse. It'll probably end badly, either for Cryou or for the entire world~

Well, it's true that either yami would step in - but so far Yami Yugi simply hasn't been able to act at all; the only possible time for him to have taken Yugi over and be aware of any sort of danger would have been during the blackout, and it's kind of presumed that either Yugo or Wolof Jou or both knocked Yugi out during the blackout. (But you are right - there _is _actually another reason for this whole 'Yami's don't appear to be helping much' phenomena, xDD)

Your English is good enough that I can understand you pretty well, and it's gotten much better during our not-so-little chats~


	10. Chapter Nine: Freeing

**Author's Note: **In case you missed it - the original Chapter Eight, 'Changing', was completely overhauled in terms of plot about two weeks ago, and reposted as a new chapter. If you haven't already, please read this chapter before you go on.

**Chapter Nine: Freeing**

* * *

**ANZU**

* * *

She's made it.

For her, there's never been a greater triumph, and she has to fight hard to subdue the giggles threatening to bubble out of her and reveal her position. The brunette might be tired, her chest heaving, but all that's far away for the moment. She grins silently in the dark; knowing full well that she's made it to the control room at last; she can see the chink of brightness under the door. She can barely believe it, to be honest; some little voice is telling her that Marik knew full well that she could do it, but Anzu definitely doubted herself more than a few times as she ran (the bangs and thumps of Honda and her clone fighting it out in the corridor some way behind, her way lit for some time by a creepy Egyptian relic, until it was snatched by a Ryou who came tearing past her in the opposite direction), but she's_ made it._

_He should be in here_, Marik growls inside her head. _If it's anything like what happened to me, Yugo should have dragged him in here to gloat. _

All joy goes straight out of the girl, her eyes widening and shoulders slumping. "H-he... won't be in here as well...?", she pants, and is hardly surprised when Marik doesn't exactly answer, instead forcing her to move; with knees shaking and her body trembling, she opens the door, sagging into the light as it swings inwards with a series of rusty squeaks.

"Yugi...?"

All she receives is silence.

The body on the wall isn't exactly chatty, it seems.

...The_ body on the wall?_

_Wh-what is this?_, Marik snarls, his control disintegrating due to his surprise and confusion, allowing Anzu to get a terrified yelp out.

"Eep!"

_He shouldn't have... No way! This wasn't part of the plan! _

"P-plan... We had a _plan?_" Anzu whispers, taking two steps backwards in terror, then a faltering step forwards.

_Well, it's not exactly _your _plan-_

-but that's all he manages, breaking off with a strangled yelp as a hand lands heavily on Anzu's shoulder.

"Hold it right there, honey. You're tired of running, and I'm tired to _death _of chasing you. So, just stay still, while I try to remember how I was going to kill you. All this hunting's scrambled my brain..."

Blue eyes widen in worry at the voice: light, feminine, chatty, _hers. _She doesn't dare turn around to face the girl; she knows who it is already without looking. In her mind, Anzu can picture her clone's stupid face, as her attacked gloats inwardly - and Marik definitely isn't helping when he automatically imagines it as well - the sneer, the cold eyes, the knife she's presumably got in her clammy little hand, the lot. The girl shivers a little, shuddering as a slight warm breath lands on the back of her neck; her only comfort being that at least a faint breath on her neck isn't a knife digging between her shoulder blades. The silence drags on, and she soon wonders why the clone _hasn't _done that yet, wonders if her doppelganger actually had any sort of weapon to begin with, wincing when Marik burrows into her subconsciousness and forgotten memories, and cheerfully informs her that yes, her double had a nice big knife. Maybe Anzu's clone lost the knife in the dark scuffle with Honda, or maybe the killer just wants to take something from Anzu before she kills - actually, the girl wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

But there is no question from the other girl; and despite the earlier boasting, Anzu is still very much alive a few minutes later. "You're not _really _going to kill me, right?", she asks after a long moment, but all she gets in reply is an even longer silence, causing her to start wondering if the clone's even there anymore, if what she thinks is a hand on her shoulder isn't one, if-

-well, just before her own voice decides to answer her with a bout of mad giggles.

"I had you good there, didn't I? I had you _good_." Her clone steps to her side, grinning cheerfully. "Come on, now. We both know that you're a waybetter Anzu than I am. I've just started, and you've been doing it for, like, sixteen years. Sure, I know I'm much cooler than you are, but I'm not a better _Anzu_." She laughs; and it's definitely a laugh cooler than Anzu's laugh - if by cooler, you mean _colder_, because the laugh is less of a happy noise and more of a cruel, mocking one. "Really, I don't know why I even bothered _trying_ back there. The knife? Yeah, no. Not happening, right?"

And as much as Anzu might enjoy giving speeches about the importance of always trying your best, and of course how no-one should ever simply not bother trying, she's definitely not stupid enough to give such a speech here. It's not like she even trusts her doppelganger in the slightest, but she doesn't appear to be armed, and whether or not this odd girl is even on her side doesn't really matter - such things are probably not worth thinking about, not when _your very best childhood friend is bleeding on the wall over there-_

Luckily for the two girls, the doppelganger happens to catch sight Yugi before either the silence can become awkward or Anzu can scream (whichever happens first), her eyes widening at the sight of the boy shackled to the wall. She runs to his side, all concern and kindness in a moment; it's the sort of abrupt personality switch which just makes Anzu wants to gag. "H-hey! Are you all right?" For a moment, the observer reckons that the doppelganger might even be on their side - until the grey-eyed twin looks over her shoulder, and grins viciously. "Oh look, my doppelganger's here! I think I can hold her off, but I don't know if I'll be able to!" She wraps her arms around the unconscious boy, much to Anzu's horror. "I'll protect you, though! Don't you w-"

With an incomprehensible snarl, the girl darts in to deliver a vicious, stinging slap to her clone's face, somehow managing to get a yelp out of the other girl. Struggling to keep the smirk off her face at the thought of such an arrogant person making such a surprised noise, Anzu calmly kicks the doppelganger in the shins, forcibly tearing her off Yugi and elbowing her away. "Don't you _dare_ do that again!", she shrieks, standing in front of Yugi to protect her friend as a mother goose might protect her chicks; but her clone only laughs, refusing to back away.

"Oh, feisty! So, I guess he's taken, then?" She frowns a little. "It's such a pity, though. I might even kill you to get my hands on him... Just for the one night, then I'd be gone. You'd never notice, though then again - you'd be dead and all, so-"

**TWHACK!**

"Don't you _dare _say that!"

"Ow... Hey, that actually hurt, just a little bit", the other girl smirks, taking a few steps back so that she won't be punched again. "So, are you two an item?"

Anzu winces, but shakes her head. "That doesn't even _matter. _The fact is, I'm not letting some girl who nearly murdered me anywhere _near _my best friend!"

When clone merely yawns in the face of this furious challenge, the other girl merely rolls her eyes, turning her attention to Yugi. He doesn't look too badly injured, thankfully, but there's still some blood dripping off the numerous cuts someone has made on his arms, and he's not exactly _moving_.

_He's not dead. There's no way, there's just no_ _way_, Marik starts mumbling again, his mind quietly urging Anzu to look Yugi over more properly, and check to see whether or not he's dead. It's not like she really has a _choice _about things, of course; given that the Egyptian could take Anzu over at any time - but still, the girl has to admit that she wants to know herself. It's not even really out of concern, either; more out of a terrible sort of curiosity that makes her reach out to touch his cheek, finding it to be still warm. Trembling a little, she forces herself to come nearer to his battered frame, hoping to hear him breathe-

-"Anzu..."

She stiffens at the sound of the soft whisper, jumping back when the boy groans a little, shifting against his restraints. Purple eyes slide open a few seconds later, narrowing in pain against the harsh light, and Anzu's heart automatically flutters at the sight of a tired smile pulling at the corner of Yugi's lip. "Oh! A-are you okay?"

"Y-you really came..." He nods to his left. "M-my Puzzle. Could you... maybe?" Yugi makes a grasping motion, and Anzu honestly feels for him; the desperation in his eyes says it all, even before he's gone and tried to explain why he needs it, because the other him would surely be able to break out of the shackles, because the other him is a friend he must surely miss so much.

_You have to give him the Puzzle. There's no other way out of this, unless he has it_, Marik snarls. _Don't even think about trying to-_

"S-shut up!", she mumbles under her breath, then smiles condescendingly at Yugi, even as she shakes her head. "I'd love to, but..." She trails off, struggling to get her next words out - partially because the Egyptian is fighting her, and partially because she doesn't really want to say them herself, doesn't want to tell her best friend all about the other Anzu who might just try to kill him if she leaves him alone - or worse. For the better or for the worse, though, she doesn't get a chance - Yugi suddenly stiffens, staring hard over her shoulder. He licks his lips nervously, swallowing a few times before he speaks; his voice quiet, though there's definitely a hint of panic in it.

"Wh-why are there two of you? P-please don't tell me... you're..."

"Hah, no. I'm her clone, get it?", the doppelganger grins as she strides over, her loud voice making Anzu jump and Yugi wince. "I'm the person who's better than Anzu dearest in every possible way! Single, and very much open for any takers! Pleased to meet you!"

"You're not going to kill us?", the boy wonders, looking faintly bemused. "But, didn't Yugo say... the only way to get out was to kill some-"

"No, no. You're only supposed to kill your own twin if you want to get out. Me, I'm personally hoping you'll kick Mr. Ugly into next week."At this point, the clone giggles childishly at her own namecalling, Marik only _just _managing to stop Anzu from thumping the other girl yet again. "Come, now! Who would seriously wanna follow Mr. Ugly?"

Yugi stares at her for a very long time, before he sighs and shakes his head. "I don't think I'll ever be able to understand any of you grey-eyed people. At least you don't seem to think that you're better tha-"

"Oh, no, I'd never think that." The clone puffs her chest a little, standing straighter in such a manner as to pretty much incite Anzu into attacking her. "See, I know I'm better than Anzu over there. I'm just _so _much better, she's not even worth comparing me to."

Yugi sighs. "Look, can one of you two just get the Puzzle?"

"Sorry, but I can't do that", Anzu growls, not wanting to leave Yugi for a second with this weirdo.

"Me neither", the other girl shrugs. "No-one seems to trust me, anyway."

"Then - look, why don't you both go? I'm fine, honest...", the boy pleads, only to whimper softly when they both glare at him. "...okay, so maybe I'm not." He shakes his head as best the chains will allow him to. "I really need that Puzzle, but... I guess you two need some time to sort yourselves out, right?"

_And time's the one thing we don't have at the moment!_, Marik growls, suddenly barging into Anzu's head and trying to _take_, because _taking_ is all he ever seems to do these days. Caught off guard, the girl has no chance of resisting; and so she hiccups, twitches, and then goes to get the Puzzle (against her better instincts). She doesn't want to leave Yugi alone with only that knife-toting psycho for company - but as soon as they're on the move, she finds herself encouraging Marik to just hurry up and find the damn pendant already, and now that he's found it, he should get right back to Yugi, before her doppelganger-_  
_

-and _then _she sees the television screens; and let's face it, her clone possibly making a move on her friend whilst her back is turned is seriously the least of her worries. The greenish hue to all the images certainly makes it harder to figure out what's going on, and the scene before is almost unbelievable, but it still makes Anzu scream nonetheless, throwing off the Egyptian's control as she charges straight back to Yugi, throwing the cord of the Puzzle over his neck. "W-we don't have much time! We have to get moving!"

_You idiot! He'll be fine! _

"No, he won't!"

_Who cares? Yugo's my target, not-_

"Well, he's not _my _target!"

"Target...?"

_Oops._

Anzu groans inwardly, Marik appearing to attempt the mental equivalent of a facepalm. Yugi's stare remains confused even when his hair spikes up, and her doppelganger doesn't exactly look _impressed_. "Uh- I didn't mean that. I was... talking to someone?"

_Heh, you were._

"Oh, shut up." Then, to the other two: "Sorry."

Having eyed her over for a long time, Yami Yugi sighs and shakes his head. "I will trust you with whatever secret you happen to be keeping." He nods to a large filing cabinet in the corner. "The key to these chains is in the fourth one from the top. Anzu the Clone, please go and get it." As the doppelganger scuttles off to grab it, the teenager looks at Anzu once again, features softening for a moment.

"You look almost... desperate."

Anzu blinks stupidly for a second; that's not generally a good word to describe her at all. She's always been relatively safe in the knowledge that either Yugi or the other Yugi or both will eventually save the day; they always have done in the past, and surely will do so again.

But let's face it: When you see one of your close friends attempting to chop a giant wolf-thing's head off, even as it tries its darndest to kill him, whilst a perfect copy of your friend appears to be trying to murder both combatants at once and an innocent is heading towards the room to be killed, you're gonna get desperate.

* * *

**UAB**

- We have a cover now, courtesy of Artworx88~ Thanks, bro!

– Another chapter, another clone introduction, another Sue parody to add to the list!

+ Canzu - The only clone to actually _not _attempt to kill her counterpart at any point, though she certainly did when the two of them first met. An overly cheerful little psycho, she's flirtatious with Yugi to the point of disgusting, and seems to believe that because she's better than Anzu, _she _should be the one to romance Yugi instead. Interestingly enough, actually dislikes Yugo to an extent; though then again, she's easily the most independent and disobedient clone of the group, blatantly ignoring the house rule saying that they have to kill each other. Or maybe she's just a very good actor...

_Parody of both terrible Anzu character bashings (in particular those aggressive variants that frighten Yugi to some extent and/or force themselves upon him), and those overly cheerful Sues that basically walk up to a male character of their choice and demand to be kissed (and get it). Canzu is an extremely aggressive character romance-wise, which is pretty much the direct opposite of the shy Anzu, who's been shown to be too nervous to say anything to Yugi on multiple occasions in the manga - interestingly enough, this variant of Sue is often the sort that comes in in place of Anzu in an OC/Yugi fic._

* * *

**Reply to Guest Review**

**Yami** **E**: *throws a party with you*

Yay, Yami Yugi is here~ And yeah - he's actually not the creepy Season Zero Yami Yugi, xDD. He's probably more like the Yami Yugi that was seen all the way through the Battle City and Duelist Kingdom manga; have a quick read online of YGO Duelist chapter 90 (his truly awkward 'date'with Anzu) to see what I'm talking about. His main problem is that although he _does _care about people, he has a maaaajor tendency to state the obvious, use the wrong word choice in a given situation, and in general doesn't really identify with other people's emotions that well. The dub had him as much more outwardly caring, and there's a _ton _of fanfics that play him as sweeter still.

IDK, I referred to it as the control room pretty much because it's just the best place for Yugo to keep watch on everything, plus it has all the screens/computers/weapons he could ever need~ But yeah, they could be robots, especially given that I never mentioned what Cou's corpse looked like after a wolf-thing jumped on top of it. They'd have to be pretty advanced robots, though... Whoever's behind this must be awfully well-off.

Aheh, exactly - it was only after I'd tricked you into thinking Katsuya was Jou that I realized it was going to be ridiculously hard to explain that the guy Ryou is trying to kill isn't Jou at all, without using Jou's perspective to do it. It was confusing, too, because the idea that he randomly became a wolof due to the food doesn't explain why the others weren't affected, and obviously the clones shouldn't have been prancing around calling him Nine-Six-One if he didn't know them already. So yeah - revealing the Katsuya/Jou thing was done pretty much to sidestep around what's either a totally ludicrous or totally confusing moment in the plot~

Heh, it's no problem (was is really a couple of weeks ago I updated...? Eep, I'm getting slower!). You do mispell some things occasionally ('author', 'important'), tend to jump to the next line much sooner than you should (are you using mobile or something?) and mix tenses a little, but it's not like one can't tell what you're trying to say, or I wouldn't be able to reply properly to you here~

Pffft, people on here can be real idiots sometimes~ Go to _any_ trollfic with a good number of reviews, and you'll find some of the snarkiest, nastiest comments I've ever seen. They're good for reading if you want to laugh at how dumb certain parts of fandoms can be, but... not so good when they're aimed at you. And reviewers sledging reviewers is just... Heh, that really is stupid. Authors want reviews, right? I kind of doubt they'd want to see reviewers fighting each other~

Until next time!


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